General Information:
Chemical Formula:
Ca3[Si6O15]·6(H2O)
Composition:
(Molecular Weight = 1,966.57 gm)
Calcium 20.38 % Ca
Silicon 25.71 % Si
Hydrogen 1.85 % H
Oxygen 52.07 % O
Empirical Formula:
Ca10Si18O46·18(H2O)
Environment:
Secondary mineral from the alteration of basalts.
Locality:
Disko Island, Greenland. Poona, near Bombay, India.
Name Origin:
Named after the German natural historian, Lorenz Oken (1779-1851), Munich Germany.
Physical Properties:
Cleavage:
[001] Good
Color:
white, yellowish white, or bluish white.
Density:
2.3 - 2.33, Average = 2.31
Diaphaniety:
Transparent to Translucent
Habits:
Capillary - Very slender and long, like a thread or hair (e.g. millerite)., Spherical - Spherical, rounded aggregates., Fibrous - Crystals made up of fibers.
Hardness:
5 - Apatite
Luminescence:
Fluorescent.
Luster:
Pearly
Streak:
white
More details...