albite

American  

[al-bahyt] / ˈæl baɪt /

noun

Mineralogy.

1. the sodium end member of the plagioclase feldspar group, light-colored and found in alkalic igneous rocks.

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albite British  

/ ˈælbaɪt, ælˈbɪtɪk /

noun

1. 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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albite Scientific  

/ ăl′bīt′ /

1. 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: NaAlSi ₃ O ₈ .

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Other Word Forms

• albitic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of albite

1835–45; < Latin alb ( us ) white + -ite ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

albite

One common variety was greenish-black, with large crystals of blackish albite.

From Geological Observations on South America by Darwin, Charles

Hence probably it is that the fused albite, which is abundant in the pinnacle, disappears in the streams.

From Volcanic Islands by Darwin, Charles

This basalt is of a grey colour, and contains many crystals of glassy albite, which become much more numerous in the lower, scoriaceous part.

From Volcanic Islands by Darwin, Charles

These fragments consist of glassy albite, much mackled, and with very imperfect cleavages, mingled with semi-rounded grains, having tarnished, glossy surfaces, of a steel-blue mineral.

From Volcanic Islands by Darwin, Charles

Some of the trachytic lavas are said to abound with crystals of albite.

From Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara, Volume I (Commodore B. Von Wullerstorf-Urbair,) Undertaken by Order of the Imperial Government in the Years 1857, 1858, & 1859, Under the Immediate Auspices of His I. and R. Highness the Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, Commander-In-Chief of the Austrian Navy. by Scherzer, Karl Ritter von