property of minerals; not always useful for identifying, poorest way of identification. To understand what makes a mineral a mineral, we need to understand the basic requirements that categorize them, as well as their properties. Examples are minerals of trivalent iron (the charge transfer O2 → Fe3+); the chromates, vanadates, and molybdates, such as crocoite, vanadinite, and wulfenite (the transfer O2 → Cr6+, V5+, Mo6+); and minerals that at the same time contain the differently charged ions Fe2+ and Fe3+, such as cordierite, vivianite, and aquamarine. The geological definition of mineral normally excludes compounds that occur only in living beings. In another type of idiochromatic mineral, the color is due to electron transfers between different ions, namely, charge transfers. This includes the transfer between a metal ion and ligands and the transfer between differently charged metal ions. In idiochromatic minerals the color is due to the characteristics of the constituent chemical elements (the species-forming elements or impurities that act as chromophores), the nature of the crystal’s electron structure, more specifically the zonal structure, and the presence of defects in the crystals, for example, vacancies and interstitial atoms. Bell Laboratories. Define mineral. mineral synonyms, mineral pronunciation, mineral translation, English dictionary definition of mineral. Learn a new word every day. Definition. Minerals are inorganic substances, meaning that they do not come from an animal or … A comparative evaluation is usually used in describing the color of minerals; the mineral’s color is compared to the color of some commonly known object or substance (indigo blue, apple green, lemon yellow, and blood red) or to mineral “color standards,” such as vermilion red and emerald green. Many minerals have the property of exhibiting different colors in different crystallographic directions, especially in polarized light (seePLEOCHROISM), or changing their color with the color temperature of the radiative source illuminating them. Many impurities can color these minerals and make their color variable. If we take the definition of a mineral term by term, it becomes easier to understand: Minerals must occur naturally. one of the most important physical properties of minerals, reflecting the nature of the interaction of the electromagnetic radiation of the visible region with the electrons of the atoms, molecules, and ions of the crystals and with the electron system of the crystal as a whole. The property of streak often demonstrates the true or inherent color of a mineral. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. 5 a: a solid homogeneous crystalline chemical element or compound that results from the inorganic processes of nature broadly: any of various naturally occurring homogeneous substances (such as stone, coal, salt, sulfur, sand, petroleum, water, or natural gas) obtained usually from the ground Color associated with ions of the transition metals—Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu—is typical of emerald, ruby, rubellite, rhodonite, chrysolite, and malachite. The study of the color of minerals provides information about the crystallochemical and genetic characteristics of minerals and is useful in the synthesis of high-quality analogs of natural gems. Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible). You must — there are over 200,000 words in our free online dictionary, but you are looking for one that’s only in the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary. For more information on minerals in food, its definition types, functions and sources of minerals, and examples of minerals in food, keep visiting BYJU’S Biology. Streak • The color of the powdery residue of a mineral left behind when you drag it across an unglazed porcelain plate These phenomena are related to the structural features of mineral formations (regular alternation of phases of different composition in iridescent labradorites and peristerites and in sunstone [aventurine feldspar] and moonstone; the globular structure of opals) or to the structure of the surface layer of crystals (various types of tarnish, such as the iridiscent film on bornite, chalcopyrite, pyrite, and covellite). To coloring elements, other impurities or factors exist that have also been linked the. 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