Structural disparities between chalcedony and macrocrystalline quartz

P. J. Heaney, D. R. Veblen, J. E. Post

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

42 Scopus citations

Abstract

Examination of length-fast chalcedony by transmission electron microscopy reveals significant structural differences between microcrystalline fibrous quartz and ideal α quartz. Individual crystals that make up chalcedony fibers are elongate along [110] and are twisted about the fiber axis. Streaks in electron diffraction patterns of single fibers indicate pervasive disorder among the {101} and possibly the {011} planes, and in dark-field images the texture of this structural disorder appears dendritic. Because the streak systems associated with {101} and with {011} intersect at the expected locations of primary diffractions associated with the mineral "moganite', demonstrations of the presence of "moganite' require complementary characterization techniques, such as X-ray powder diffraction -from Authors

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)452-460
Number of pages9
JournalAmerican Mineralogist
Volume79
Issue number5-6
StatePublished - 1994

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Geophysics
  • Geochemistry and Petrology

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