microcline

American  

[mahy-kruh-klahyn] / ˈmaɪ krəˌklaɪn /

noun

1. a mineral of the feldspar group, potassium aluminum silicate, KAlSi 3 O 8 , identical in composition with orthoclase but having triclinic instead of monoclinic crystals, used in making porcelain.

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microcline British  

/ ˈmaɪkrəʊˌklaɪn /

noun

1. a white, creamy yellow, red, or green mineral of the feldspar group, found in igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks: used in the manufacture of glass and ceramics. Composition: potassium aluminium silicate. Formula: KAlSi 3 O 8 . Crystal structure: triclinic

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microcline Scientific  

/ mī′krō-klīn′ /

1. A white, pink, red-brown, or green type of potassium feldspar. It is dimorphous with orthoclase feldspar, differing from it in shape and in the fact that it forms at lower temperatures. Chemical formula: KAlSi ₃ O ₈ .

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Etymology

Origin of microcline

1840–50; micro- + -cline < Greek klī́nein to lean ¹, referring to the angles between its cleavage planes, which differ slightly from 90°

Example Sentences

Last come orthoclase, quartz, microcline and micropegmatite, which fill up the irregular spaces left between the earlier minerals.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 3 "Gordon, Lord George" to "Grasses" by Various

There are also placed in the anorthic class a potash-felspar called microcline, and a rare soda-potash-felspar known as anorthoclase.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 2 "Fairbanks, Erastus" to "Fens" by Various

At Danbury the mineral occurs with microcline and oligoclase embedded in dolomite.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 9 "Dagupan" to "David" by Various

Plagioclase, microcline and quartz are the predominating minerals, while biotite, titanite, epidote, apatite, zircon and garnet are present in smaller quantities.

From The Long Labrador Trail by Wallace, Dillon

At the same time orthoclase and microcline are both potassium felspars; yet the former crystallizes in the monoclinic, and the latter in the triclinic system.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia Volume 4, Part 3: Estremoz to Felspar by Various