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58-613: The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland (now known as the Mineralogical Society of the United Kingdom and Ireland ) was founded in 1876. Its main purpose is to disseminate scientific knowledge of the Mineral Sciences ( mineralogy ) as it may be applied to the fields of crystallography , geochemistry , petrology , environmental science and economic geology . In support of this vision,

116-444: A ( polarizer ) below the sample and an analyzer above it, polarized perpendicular to each other. Light passes successively through the polarizer, the sample and the analyzer. If there is no sample, the analyzer blocks all the light from the polarizer. However, an anisotropic sample will generally change the polarization so some of the light can pass through. Thin sections and powders can be used as samples. When an isotropic crystal

174-548: A polarizing microscope . James D. Dana published his first edition of A System of Mineralogy in 1837, and in a later edition introduced a chemical classification that is still the standard. X-ray diffraction was demonstrated by Max von Laue in 1912, and developed into a tool for analyzing the crystal structure of minerals by the father/son team of William Henry Bragg and William Lawrence Bragg . More recently, driven by advances in experimental technique (such as neutron diffraction ) and available computational power,

232-468: A sclerometer ; compared to the absolute scale, the Mohs scale is nonlinear. Tenacity refers to the way a mineral behaves, when it is broken, crushed, bent or torn. A mineral can be brittle , malleable , sectile , ductile , flexible or elastic . An important influence on tenacity is the type of chemical bond ( e.g., ionic or metallic ). Of the other measures of mechanical cohesion, cleavage

290-692: A classic in the field. By then, Haüy had applied his ideas to the differentiation of different species. He systematically described all the known minerals, sorting them into classes, and giving their chemical and geometrical properties. His work, in four volumes, including an atlas of plates, was accounted among the most wonderful of the 19th century. It has been described as "a work of comprehensive insight, and much of it, written with literary fluency". A second updated edition appeared as Traité de cristallographie in 1822. Haüy created comprehensive collections containing hundreds of pear-wood models of crystal models for education and demonstrations. One such set

348-699: A collection of all Earth materials. In October 1794, René Just Haüy was appointed the first curator of the Cabinet of Mineralogy, later known as the Musée de Minéralogie . He may therefore be considered a founder of the Musée de Minéralogie. On November 9, 1794, Haüy also became a professor of physics at the École normale supérieure . In 1802, Haüy became a professor of mineralogy at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (National Museum of Natural History). Haüy's work

406-449: A much smaller sample) has essentially the same relationship. This implies that, given the chemical composition of the planet, one could predict the more common minerals. However, the distribution has a long tail , with 34% of the minerals having been found at only one or two locations. The model predicts that thousands more mineral species may await discovery or have formed and then been lost to erosion, burial or other processes. This implies

464-459: A polarizing microscope to observe. When light passes from air or a vacuum into a transparent crystal, some of it is reflected at the surface and some refracted . The latter is a bending of the light path that occurs because the speed of light changes as it goes into the crystal; Snell's law relates the bending angle to the Refractive index , the ratio of speed in a vacuum to speed in

522-836: A role of chance in the formation of rare minerals occur. In another use of big data sets, network theory was applied to a dataset of carbon minerals, revealing new patterns in their diversity and distribution. The analysis can show which minerals tend to coexist and what conditions (geological, physical, chemical and biological) are associated with them. This information can be used to predict where to look for new deposits and even new mineral species. Minerals are essential to various needs within human society, such as minerals used as ores for essential components of metal products used in various commodities and machinery , essential components to building materials such as limestone , marble , granite , gravel , glass , plaster , cement , etc. Minerals are also used in fertilizers to enrich

580-451: A single fracture along one of the edges of the base, by which it had been attached to the rest of the group. Instead of placing it in the collection I was then forming, I tried to divide it in other directions, and I succeeded, after several attempts, in extracting its rhomboid nucleus." René-Just Haüy, Traité de minéralogie (1801) Studying the fragments inspired Haüy to make further experiments in crystal cutting. Breaking down crystals to

638-530: Is determined by comparison with other minerals. In the Mohs scale , a standard set of minerals are numbered in order of increasing hardness from 1 (talc) to 10 (diamond). A harder mineral will scratch a softer, so an unknown mineral can be placed in this scale, by which minerals; it scratches and which scratch it. A few minerals such as calcite and kyanite have a hardness that depends significantly on direction. Hardness can also be measured on an absolute scale using

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696-490: Is often referred to as the "Father of Modern Crystallography". During the French Revolution he also helped to establish the metric system . René-Just Haüy was born at Saint-Just-en-Chaussée on February 28, 1743, in the province of Picardy (later the département of Oise ). His parents were Just Haüy, a poor linen-weaver, and his wife Magdeleine Candelot. Haüy's interest in the services and music of

754-454: Is similar to wet chemistry in that the sample must still be dissolved, but it is much faster and cheaper. The solution is vaporized and its absorption spectrum is measured in the visible and ultraviolet range. Other techniques are X-ray fluorescence , electron microprobe analysis atom probe tomography and optical emission spectrography . In addition to macroscopic properties such as colour or lustre, minerals have properties that require

812-399: Is the arrangement of atoms in a crystal. It is represented by a lattice of points which repeats a basic pattern, called a unit cell , in three dimensions. The lattice can be characterized by its symmetries and by the dimensions of the unit cell. These dimensions are represented by three Miller indices . The lattice remains unchanged by certain symmetry operations about any given point in

870-594: Is the identification and classification of minerals by their properties. Historically, mineralogy was heavily concerned with taxonomy of the rock-forming minerals. In 1959, the International Mineralogical Association formed the Commission of New Minerals and Mineral Names to rationalize the nomenclature and regulate the introduction of new names. In July 2006, it was merged with the Commission on Classification of Minerals to form

928-432: Is the tendency to break along certain crystallographic planes. It is described by the quality ( e.g. , perfect or fair) and the orientation of the plane in crystallographic nomenclature. Parting is the tendency to break along planes of weakness due to pressure, twinning or exsolution . Where these two kinds of break do not occur, fracture is a less orderly form that may be conchoidal (having smooth curves resembling

986-481: Is viewed, it appears dark because it does not change the polarization of the light. However, when it is immersed in a calibrated liquid with a lower index of refraction and the microscope is thrown out of focus, a bright line called a Becke line appears around the perimeter of the crystal. By observing the presence or absence of such lines in liquids with different indices, the index of the crystal can be estimated, usually to within ± 0.003 . Systematic mineralogy

1044-912: The EMU Notes in Mineralogy . From 1920 to 2008 it also published the Mineralogical Abstracts bibliographic database . Mineralogical Magazine and Clay Minerals are hybrid journals, publishing both subscription-based and open access articles. Aside from the denotation of senior members or Fellows of the Society that are permitted to use the post-nomial 'FMinSoc', the Society recognises distinguished accomplishments through medals, lectures, honorary fellowships and awards: Source: Mineralogical Society Source: Mineralogical Society Mineralogy Early writing on mineralogy, especially on gemstones , comes from ancient Babylonia ,

1102-636: The French Revolution , Haüy refused to take an oath accepting the Civil Constitution of the Clergy , and became a non-juring priest . He was thrown into prison after the monarchy was overthrown on August 10, 1792. Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire interceded on his behalf. Haüy was released just a few days before the September Massacres of September 2–7, 1792 in which many of the clergy were killed. On August 8, 1793, in spite of

1160-595: The Geological Society of London , IOM3 , the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers and the Microbiology Society . The Society publishes a variety of book series; these are entitled the "Landmark Series", the "Mineralogical Society Special Series", and the "Monograph series". It also publishes scientific journals entitled Mineralogical Magazine , Clay Minerals , and

1218-618: The Légion d'Honneur . After 1814 Haüy was deprived of his appointments by the Restoration government. He spent his final days in poverty, dying in Paris on June 1, 1822, even if "June 3" is systematically reported. The confusion in Haüy's death date (June 1 instead of June 3) is an 1823 error by Cuvier , rectified in 1944 by A. Lacroix but still often misreported. In 1817, René-Just Haüy

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1276-498: The National Convention passed a decree, in favor of developing uniform weights and measures across France. On September 11, 1793, they established a Temporary Commission of Weights and Measures made up of twelve scientists, including Haüy, whose task was to carry out the decree. The work of the commission was disrupted by political events. In November 1793, Lavoisier and several others were arrested and removed from

1334-457: The crowd-sourced site Mindat.org , which has over 690,000 mineral-locality pairs, with the official IMA list of approved minerals and age data from geological publications. This database makes it possible to apply statistics to answer new questions, an approach that has been called mineral ecology . One such question is how much of mineral evolution is deterministic and how much the result of chance . Some factors are deterministic, such as

1392-476: The microscopic study of rock sections with the invention of the microscope in the 17th century. Nicholas Steno first observed the law of constancy of interfacial angles (also known as the first law of crystallography) in quartz crystals in 1669. This was later generalized and established experimentally by Jean-Baptiste L. Romé de l'Islee in 1783. René Just Haüy , the "father of modern crystallography", showed that crystals are periodic and established that

1450-556: The Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature, and Classification. There are over 6,000 named and unnamed minerals, and about 100 are discovered each year. The Manual of Mineralogy places minerals in the following classes: native elements , sulfides , sulfosalts , oxides and hydroxides , halides , carbonates, nitrates and borates , sulfates, chromates, molybdates and tungstates , phosphates, arsenates and vanadates , and silicates . The environments of mineral formation and growth are highly varied, ranging from slow crystallization at

1508-461: The Commission. On May 8, 1794, Lavoisier was guillotined. Nonetheless, Haüy remained secretary of the Commission through this turmoil. The law of 18 Germinal an III was enacted on April 7, 1795, formally establishing the metric system in France. On July 12, 1794, a public decree reorganized the École des Mines (School of Mines) in Paris and specified the establishment of a Cabinet of Mineralogy,

1566-457: The Nature of Rocks , 1546) which began the scientific approach to the subject. Systematic scientific studies of minerals and rocks developed in post- Renaissance Europe. The modern study of mineralogy was founded on the principles of crystallography (the origins of geometric crystallography, itself, can be traced back to the mineralogy practiced in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries) and to

1624-652: The ancient Greco-Roman world, ancient and medieval China , and Sanskrit texts from ancient India and the ancient Islamic world. Books on the subject included the Natural History of Pliny the Elder , which not only described many different minerals but also explained many of their properties, and Kitab al Jawahir (Book of Precious Stones) by Persian scientist Al-Biruni . The German Renaissance specialist Georgius Agricola wrote works such as De re metallica ( On Metals , 1556) and De Natura Fossilium ( On

1682-450: The chemical nature of a mineral and conditions for its stability ; but mineralogy can also be affected by the processes that determine a planet's composition. In a 2015 paper, Robert Hazen and others analyzed the number of minerals involving each element as a function of its abundance. They found that Earth, with over 4800 known minerals and 72 elements, has a power law relationship. The Moon, with only 63 minerals and 24 elements (based on

1740-721: The connection between atomic-scale phenomena and macroscopic properties, the mineral sciences (as they are now commonly known) display perhaps more of an overlap with materials science than any other discipline. An initial step in identifying a mineral is to examine its physical properties, many of which can be measured on a hand sample. These can be classified into density (often given as specific gravity ); measures of mechanical cohesion ( hardness , tenacity , cleavage , fracture , parting ); macroscopic visual properties ( luster , color, streak , luminescence , diaphaneity ); magnetic and electric properties; radioactivity and solubility in hydrogen chloride ( H Cl ). Hardness

1798-566: The crystal structures of minerals. X-rays have wavelengths that are the same order of magnitude as the distances between atoms. Diffraction , the constructive and destructive interference between waves scattered at different atoms, leads to distinctive patterns of high and low intensity that depend on the geometry of the crystal. In a sample that is ground to a powder, the X-rays sample a random distribution of all crystal orientations. Powder diffraction can distinguish between minerals that may appear

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1856-416: The crystal. Crystals whose point symmetry group falls in the cubic system are isotropic : the index does not depend on direction. All other crystals are anisotropic : light passing through them is broken up into two plane polarized rays that travel at different speeds and refract at different angles. A polarizing microscope is similar to an ordinary microscope, but it has two plane-polarized filters,

1914-457: The development of X-Ray diffraction technology many years later, in 1902. Haüy was not the only researcher to observe that calcite crystals could be composed of smaller rhombohedra, but it was he who introduced the idea of triple periodicity in crystals. This idea was fundamental to later developments in the field on crystal lattices . Between 1784 and 1822, Haüy published more than 100 reports discussing his theories and their application to

1972-629: The efforts of Antoine Lavoisier , the Académie royale des sciences de Paris was dissolved by the National Convention . It was not restored until August 22, 1795, when it became known as the Institut National des Sciences et des Arts (National Institute of Sciences and Arts). Before its suppression, the Academy of Sciences had formed a working group to develop a uniform system of weights and measures for use throughout France. Lavoisier

2030-480: The field has made great advances in the understanding of the relationship between the atomic-scale structure of minerals and their function; in nature, prominent examples would be accurate measurement and prediction of the elastic properties of minerals, which has led to new insight into seismological behaviour of rocks and depth-related discontinuities in seismograms of the Earth's mantle . To this end, in their focus on

2088-625: The growth of agricultural crops. Mineral collecting is also a recreational study and collection hobby , with clubs and societies representing the field. Museums, such as the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals , the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County , the Carnegie Museum of Natural History , the Natural History Museum, London , and

2146-694: The high temperatures and pressures of igneous melts deep within the Earth's crust to the low temperature precipitation from a saline brine at the Earth's surface. Various possible methods of formation include: Biomineralogy is a cross-over field between mineralogy, paleontology and biology . It is the study of how plants and animals stabilize minerals under biological control, and the sequencing of mineral replacement of those minerals after deposition. It uses techniques from chemical mineralogy, especially isotopic studies, to determine such things as growth forms in living plants and animals as well as things like

2204-529: The interior of a shell), fibrous , splintery , hackly (jagged with sharp edges), or uneven . If the mineral is well crystallized, it will also have a distinctive crystal habit (for example, hexagonal, columnar, botryoidal ) that reflects the crystal structure or internal arrangement of atoms. It is also affected by crystal defects and twinning . Many crystals are polymorphic , having more than one possible crystal structure depending on factors such as pressure and temperature. The crystal structure

2262-422: The latter of which has enabled extremely accurate atomic-scale simulations of the behaviour of crystals, the science has branched out to consider more general problems in the fields of inorganic chemistry and solid-state physics . It, however, retains a focus on the crystal structures commonly encountered in rock-forming minerals (such as the perovskites , clay minerals and framework silicates ). In particular,

2320-540: The lattice: reflection , rotation , inversion , and rotary inversion , a combination of rotation and reflection. Together, they make up a mathematical object called a crystallographic point group or crystal class . There are 32 possible crystal classes. In addition, there are operations that displace all the points: translation , screw axis , and glide plane . In combination with the point symmetries, they form 230 possible space groups . Most geology departments have X-ray powder diffraction equipment to analyze

2378-469: The local church brought him to the attention of the prior of a nearby abbey of Premonstrants . Through him, Haüy was introduced to a colleague in Paris and obtained a scholarship to the College of Navarre . Haüy eventually became an usher, and in 1764, was appointed regent (master) of the fourth class. Haüy also progressed in his religious training. He was tonsured in 1762, took minor orders in 1765,

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2436-594: The orientations of crystal faces can be expressed in terms of rational numbers, as later encoded in the Miller indices. In 1814, Jöns Jacob Berzelius introduced a classification of minerals based on their chemistry rather than their crystal structure. William Nicol developed the Nicol prism , which polarizes light, in 1827–1828 while studying fossilized wood; Henry Clifton Sorby showed that thin sections of minerals could be identified by their optical properties using

2494-440: The original mineral content of fossils. A new approach to mineralogy called mineral evolution explores the co-evolution of the geosphere and biosphere, including the role of minerals in the origin of life and processes as mineral-catalyzed organic synthesis and the selective adsorption of organic molecules on mineral surfaces. In 2011, several researchers began to develop a Mineral Evolution Database. This database integrates

2552-612: The private Mim Mineral Museum in Beirut , Lebanon , have popular collections of mineral specimens on permanent display. Ren%C3%A9 Just Ha%C3%BCy René Just Haüy ( French pronunciation: [aɥi] ) FRS MWS FRSE (28 February 1743 – 1 June 1822) was a French priest and mineralogist , commonly styled the Abbé Haüy after he was made an honorary canon of Notre Dame . Due to his innovative work on crystal structure and his four-volume Traité de Minéralogie (1801), he

2610-706: The same in a hand sample, for example quartz and its polymorphs tridymite and cristobalite . Isomorphous minerals of different compositions have similar powder diffraction patterns, the main difference being in spacing and intensity of lines. For example, the Na Cl ( halite ) crystal structure is space group Fm3m ; this structure is shared by sylvite ( K Cl ), periclase ( Mg O ), bunsenite ( Ni O ), galena ( Pb S ), alabandite ( Mn S ), chlorargyrite ( Ag Cl ), and osbornite ( Ti N ). A few minerals are chemical elements , including sulfur , copper , silver , and gold , but

2668-616: The smallest pieces possible, Haüy concluded that each type of crystal has a fundamental primitive, nucleus or “integrant molecule” of a particular shape, that could not be broken further without destroying both the physical and chemical nature of the crystal. He further argued that crystal structures are made up of orderly arrangements of these integrant molecules in successive layers, according to geometrical laws of crystallization . Crystals that had been classed together previously were identified as being of separate mineral species if their fundamental structure differed. Heavyspar, for example,

2726-565: The society publishes scientific journals , books and monographs. It also organizes and sponsors scientific meetings, and the society connects with other societies which have similar scientific interests. Some of these other societies are the International Mineralogical Association , the European Mineralogical Union , the Mineralogical Society of America , the Mineralogical Association of Canada ,

2784-467: The specimen and caused it to break.) He became intrigued by the perfectly smooth plane of the fracture. "The observation I have just noted is that which has served to develop my ideas on the structure of crystals. It presented itself in the case of a crystal that the citizen Defrance was kind enough to give me just after it had broken off from a group this enlightened amateur was showing me, and which formed part of his mineralogical collection. The prism had

2842-523: The structure of crystalline substances. Haüy first stated his laws of decrement in Essai d'une théorie sur la structure des crystaux (1784). It was a radical departure from his previous works, introducing his theory of molé constituantes or constituent molecules. By 1792, he had identified a number of parallelepipeds as possible primitive crystal forms. Haüy worked out the mathematical theory of his work in his Traité de minéralogie (1801), which became

2900-425: The vast majority are compounds . The classical method for identifying composition is wet chemical analysis , which involves dissolving a mineral in an acid such as hydrochloric acid (HCl). The elements in solution are then identified using colorimetry , volumetric analysis or gravimetric analysis . Since 1960, most chemistry analysis is done using instruments. One of these, atomic absorption spectroscopy ,

2958-471: Was a major proponent, and on March 30, 1791, he submitted a plan on behalf of the Commission on Weights and Measures, which was adopted by the Constituent Assembly . Lavoisier and Haüy were tasked with determining the density of water. As of January 4, 1793, they determined the weight of a cubic decimeter of distilled water at the temperature of melting ice, the kilogram . On August 1, 1793,

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3016-587: Was acquired by Martin van Marum , curator of the Teylers Museum and a director of the Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen . Haüy is also known for his observations on pyroelectricity . He detected pyroelectricity in calamine , an oxide of zinc , as early as 1785. He studied pyroelectricity in a number of other minerals including tourmaline and related them to crystalline structure. He showed that electricity in tourmaline

3074-503: Was appointed a subdeacon in 1767, became a deacon in 1769, and was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1770. After his ordination, Haüy became regent (teacher) of the second class at the Collège du Cardinal-Lemoine. Through his friendship with his spiritual director, Abbé Lhomond , Haüy became interested first in botany , and after hearing a lecture by Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton , in mineralogy . His brother Valentin Haüy

3132-591: Was appreciated by Napoleon , who made Haüy an Honorary Canon of the Eglise Métropolitain de Paris ( Notre Dame ) on April 5, 1802. On November 28, 1803, Haüy became one of the first recipients of the Order of the Légion d'Honneur . Napoleon encouraged Haüy to write Traité élémentaire de physique (1803), and is reported to have read it during his incarceration on Elba in 1814. During his brief return to power in 1815, Napoleon promoted Haüy to officer of

3190-430: Was differentiated into specimens containing barium and strontium . The value of Haüy's discovery was immediately recognized. Haüy and his contemporaries worked with limited evidence. They could observe a crystal's habit and cleavage planes and measure interfacial angles with an instrument called a goniometer . The internal structure underlying the crystal's integrant molecule would not be determinable until

3248-553: Was elected an honorary member of the New York Academy of Sciences . His name is the thirteenth inscribed on the south-east side of the Eiffel Tower . The mineral Haüyne was named for Haüy in 1807 by Thomas-Christophe Bruun-Neergaard. It occurs in silica-deficient igneous rocks in a wide variety of locations. The following are Haüy's principal works: He also contributed papers, of which 100 are enumerated in

3306-540: Was strongest at the poles of the crystal and became imperceptible at the middle. Haüy published a book on electricity and magnetism, Exposition raisonné de la théorie de l'électricité et du magnétisme, d'après les principes d'Æpinus , in 1787. On February 12, 1783, Haüy was elected to the Académie royale des sciences de Paris ( French Academy of Sciences ) with the rank of an adjoint in botany, there being no vacancy in either physics or mineralogy. In 1788, he became as an associate in natural history and mineralogy. During

3364-467: Was the founder of the first school for the blind, the Institution des Jeunes Aveugles (Institute for Blind Youth) in Paris. An accident apparently directed René-Just Haüy's attention to what became a new field in natural history , crystallography . Haüy was examining a broken specimen of calcareous spar in the collection of Jacques de France de Croisset. (According to some accounts, Haüy dropped

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