Name/Title
TourmalineEntry/Object ID
78.63.176Description
Chemical Composition: NaFe3B3Al3(Al3Si6O27)(OH)
Crystal System: Hexagonal System
Description: Common Name: Tourmaline
Chemistry:NaFe3B3Al3(Al3Si6O27)(OH)4
Class: Silicates
Location: Unknown
Description: A piece of black Tourmaline with a spot of tan rock on one side. Crystals are very straight and compact.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS :Tourmaline is extremely varied in color. Colors include black, brown, green, red, pink, blue, and gray. White, colorless, yellow, orange, and purple colors are less common. Crystals are frequently multicolored, containing two or more distinct colors. Some specimens are pleochroic.
Streak White
Hardness 7 - 7.5
Crystal System Hexagonal
3D Crystal Atlas
(Click for animated model)
Prismatic with Triangular Cross Section
Prismatic with Pyramidal Termination
Crystal Forms
and Aggregates Usually as elongated prismatic crystals that are heavily striated. Also as short, stubby, prismatic crystals. Most Tourmaline crystals have a rounded, triangular cross-section. Seldom in tabular crystals. Aggregates include columnar, radiating, botryoidal, stalactitic, in dense groups of tiny, elongated needles, and in compact masses.
Transparency Transparent to opaque
Specific Gravity 2.9 - 3.3
Luster Vitreous. Some black and brown specimens may be dull.
Cleavage 3,2
Fracture Conchoidal to uneven
Tenacity Brittle
Other ID Marks 1) Strongly pyroelectric.
2) Piezoelectric.
3) A few forms of Tourmaline fluoresce yellow in shortwave ultraviolet light.
In Group Silicates; Cyclosilicates; Tourmaline Group
Striking Features Color, crystal form, hardness, and deep vertical striations.
Environment Elbaite, Schorl, and Liddicoatite are almost exclusively from granite pegmatites, while Dravite and Uvite or mostly from metamorphic environments such as marbles. Buergerite is from igneous rhyolite deposits.
Rock Type Igneous, Metamorphic
Popularity (1-4) 1
Prevalence (1-3) 2
Demand (1-3) 1
Tourmaline ON EBAY
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Fracture: Uneven to Conhoidal
Hardness: 7 Quartz
Luster: Glassy
Rock Type: Igneous
Specific Gravity: 3.0-3.3
Streak: WhiteCollection
Delmar Smith Mineral CollectionAcquisition
Accession
78.63Source or Donor
Delmar Smith Crystal CollectionAcquisition Method
DonationDimensions
Width
1 inDepth
1-3/8 inLength
1 inDimension Notes
Dimension taken at widest pointsLocation
Location
Shelf
CS-E-1Room
Curation StorageBuilding
Crater Rock MuseumCategory
StorageMoved By
CuratorDate
February 23, 2024