Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Granite (/ ˈ ɡ r æ n ɪ t / GRAN-it) is a coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies underground. It is common in the continental crust of Earth, where it is found in igneous ...
A silicate mineral is generally an inorganic compound consisting of subunits with the formula [SiO 2+n] 2n−. Although depicted as such, the description of silicates as anions is a simplification. Balancing the charges of the silicate anions are metal cations, M x+. Typical cations are Mg 2+, Fe 2+, and Na +. The Si-O-M linkage between the ...
A common class of examples are solid solutions such as ... minerals; a granite is defined by ... phosphates, and organic compounds. Most non-silicate mineral ...
Although the tetrahedron is a common coordination geometry for silicon(IV) compounds, silicon may also occur with higher coordination numbers. For example, in the anion hexafluorosilicate SiF 2− 6, the silicon atom is surrounded by six fluorine atoms in an octahedral arrangement. This structure is also seen in the hexahydroxysilicate anion Si ...
They are recognized by a specific set of mineralogical, geochemical, textural, and isotopic characteristics that indicate, for example, magma hybridization in the deep crust. [2] I-type granites are saturated in silica but undersaturated in aluminum ; petrographic features are representative of the chemical composition of the initial magma.
Often the species of mafic minerals is included in the name, for instance, hornblende-bearing granite, pyroxene tonalite or augite megacrystic monzonite, because the term "granite" already assumes content with feldspar and quartz. The rock texture thus determines the basic name of a felsic rock. Close-up of granite from Yosemite National Park.
Solid solutions between albite and anorthite are called plagioclase, [14] or, more properly, plagioclase feldspar. Only limited solid solution occurs between K-feldspar and anorthite, and in the two other solid solutions, immiscibility occurs at temperatures common in the crust of the Earth. Albite is considered both a plagioclase and alkali ...
Silicic is the group of silicate magmas which will eventually crystallise a relatively small proportion of ferromagnesian silicates, such as amphibole, pyroxene, and biotite. The main constituents of a silicic rock will be minerals rich in silica-minerals, like silicic feldspar or even free silica as quartz .