albite
[al-bahyt]
- the sodium end member of the plagioclase feldspar group, light-colored and found in alkalic igneous rocks.
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Origin of albite
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for albite
Historical Examples
Some of the trachytic lavas are said to abound with crystals of albite.
Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara, Volume IKarl Ritter von Scherzer
Albite found at Mineral Hill, Pennsylvania, also exhibits the chatoyancy of moonstone.
The felspar of the granulites is mostly orthoclase or cryptoperthite; microcline, oligoclase and albite are also common.
Small groups of black twin crystals have been lately discovered in the albite rock of Chesterfield in Massachusetts.
Zygadite, zig′a-dīt, n. a variety of albite found in thin twin crystals at Andreasberg, in the Harz Mountains.
albite
- a colourless, milky-white, yellow, pink, green, or black mineral of the feldspar group and plagioclase series, found in igneous sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. It is used in the manufacture of glass and ceramics. Composition: sodium aluminium silicate. Formula: NaALSi 3 O 8 . Crystal structure: triclinic
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Word Origin
C19: from Latin albus white
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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albite
[ăl′bīt′]
- A clear to milky white triclinic mineral of the plagioclase group. Albite is common in igneous rocks, especially granite, and in metamorphic rocks that formed at low temperatures. Chemical formula: NaAlSi3O8.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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