Minerals

It is not so easy to formulate the term "minerals". We can say that minerals are substances of natural origin, which are chemical compounds or chemical elements. The term minera (lat.) means "a piece of ore", "ore". The concept of "mineral" does not have an unambiguous definition. The mineral is usually referred to as a natural chemical compound or chemical element formed as a result of various physicochemical processes occurring in the earth's crust, water shell or atmosphere, and is a homogeneous body. Homogeneity means the equality of the physical and chemical properties of the mineral, respectively, in all or in parallel directions. The most significant disagreement in the interpretation of the concept of "mineral" concerns the question of whether to refer to minerals only crystalline substances or to them it is possible to classify substances in any aggregate state.

It is not so easy to formulate the term minerals

Some minerals, such as diamond, graphite, sulfur, gold, platinum, silver, copper, mercury, bismuth, consist of only one chemical element. Most of the minerals are chemical compounds, for example, quartz SiO2, potassium feldspar KAlSi3O8, calcite CaCO3. Individual minerals differ not only in excellent color and strong shine, but also in more or less regular geometric shapes, such as SiO2 rock crystal, fluorspar - CaF2 pyrite FeS2 and azurite 2CuCO3Cu(OH)2. Other minerals, such as opal, are always found in the form of irregular lumpy formations.

Rocks, lying on the surface of the Earth, consist of mineral aggregates, for the most part shallow or cryptocrystalline. Relatively rare minerals are found in the form of large, well-formed crystals. A variety of processes lead to the formation of minerals. Many of the minerals remain unchanged in the earth's crust for millions of years; others arise, perhaps, under the influence of high temperatures and pressures in the depths of several kilometers; in a number of cases, mineral formation occurs on the surface of the earth as a result of cooling of hot waters and gases of volcanic origin.

Minerals in large numbers contain rocks. Pore-forming minerals are gypsum, calcite, rock salt, iron ores. Breeds consisting of minerals of the same species are called monomineral. Usually the rocks consist of quite specific mineral associations; for example, granite consists of feldspars, quartz and mica. Petrography deals with research, description, taxonomy, classification and issues of rock formation.

Minerals is studying the science of mineralogy. Mineralogy is divided into two main parts: general and descriptive mineralogy. General mineralogy deals with the external form, crystal structure, physical and chemical properties, formation and transformations of minerals. Descriptive mineralogy describes individual minerals.

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