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Pure fluorite is colourless and transparent, both in visible and ultraviolet light, but impurities usually make it a colorful mineral and the stone has ornamental and lapidary uses. Industrially, fluorite is used as a flux for smelting, and in the production of certain glasses and enamels.
Its use began in the 1940s, following studies of children in a region where water is naturally fluoridated. It is now used widely in public water systems in the United States and some other parts of the world, such that about two-thirds of the U.S. population is exposed to fluoridated water supplies [5] and about 5.7% of people worldwide. [6]
Two commercially important halide minerals are halite and fluorite. The former is a major source of sodium chloride, in parallel with sodium chloride extracted from sea water or brine wells. Fluorite is a major source of hydrogen fluoride, complementing the supply obtained as a byproduct of the production of fertilizer. Carnallite and ...
The main uses of fluoride, in terms of volume, are in the production of cryolite, Na 3 AlF 6. It is used in aluminium smelting. Formerly, it was mined, but now it is derived from hydrogen fluoride. Fluorite is used on a large scale to separate slag in steel-making. Mined fluorite (CaF 2) is a commodity chemical used in steel-making.
Fluorite of the acidspar grade is used directly as an additive to ceramics and enamels, glass fibers and clouded glass, and cement, as well as in the outer coating of welding rods. [5] Acidspar is primarily used for making hydrofluoric acid, which is a chemical intermediate for most fluorine-containing compounds.
Chlorophane, also sometimes known as pyroemerald, cobra stone, and pyrosmaragd, is a rare variety of the mineral fluorite with the unusual combined properties of thermoluminescence, thermophosphoresence, triboluminescence, and fluorescence: it will emit light in the visible spectrum when exposed to ultraviolet light, when heated, and when ...
Human uses of plants include both practical uses, such as for food, clothing, and medicine, and symbolic uses, such as in art, mythology and literature. Materials derived from plants are collectively called plant products .
Fluorine is a relatively new element in human applications. In ancient times, only minor uses of fluorine-containing minerals existed. The industrial use of fluorite, fluorine's source mineral, was first described by early scientist Georgius Agricola in the 16th century, in the context of smelting.