Olivine Mineral Data

General Olivine Information

Chemical Formula: (Mg,Fe)2SiO4 Composition: Molecular Weight = 153.31 gm    Magnesium  25.37 %  Mg   42.06 % MgO    Iron       14.57 %  Fe   18.75 % FeO    Silicon    18.32 %  Si   39.19 % SiO₂    Oxygen     41.74 %  O              ______        ______               100.00 %      100.00 % = TOTAL OXIDE Empirical Formula: Mg_1.6Fe²⁺_0.4(SiO₄) Environment: Basic and ultra basic igneous rocks. Goup species name. IMA Status: Not Approved IMA Locality: Common world wide occurrence. Link to MinDat.org Location Data. Name Origin: Named after the green color. Name Pronunciation: Olivine Synonym: Calcio-olivine - calcium-dominant member of the olivine group   Chrysolite - light yellowish green   Peridot  

Olivine Image

Images:

Olivine Crystallography

Axial Ratios: a:b:c =0.4663:1:0.6146 Cell Dimensions: a = 4.78, b = 10.25, c = 6.3, Z = 4; V = 308.67 Den(Calc)= 3.30 Crystal System: Orthorhombic - DipyramidalH-M Symbol (2/m 2/m 2/m) Space Group: Pbnm Crystal Structure:

Mouse
drag1 - LMB Manipulate Structure
drag2 - RMB Resize/Rotate
Keyboard
S - Stereo Pair on/off
H - Help Screen
I - Data Info
A - Atoms On/Off
P - Polyhedra On/Off
B - Bonds On/Off
Help on Above

 

Physical Properties of Olivine

Cleavage: {001} Good, {010} Distinct Color: Yellowish green, Olive green, Greenish black, Reddish brown. Density: 3.27 - 3.37, Average = 3.32 Diaphaneity: Transparent to translucent Fracture: Brittle - Conchoidal - Very brittle fracture producing small, conchoidal fragments. Habit: Massive - Granular - Common texture observed in granite and other igneous rock. Hardness: 6.5-7 - Pyrite-Quartz Luminescence: Non-fluorescent. Luster: Vitreous (Glassy) Streak: white  

Optical Properties of Olivine

Gladstone-Dale: CI meas= 0.01 (Superior) - where the CI = (1-KPDmeas/KC)
CI calc= 0.004 (Superior) - where the CI = (1-KPDcalc/KC)
KPDcalc= 0.2,KPDmeas= 0.1988,KC= 0.2009
Ncalc = 1.66 - 1.68 Optical Data: Biaxial (+), a=1.63-1.65, b=1.65-1.67, g=1.67-1.69, bire=0.0400, 2V(Calc)=88, 2V(Meas)=46-98. Dispersion relatively weak.  

Calculated Properties of Olivine

Electron Density: Bulk Density (Electron Density)=3.25 gm/cc
note: Specific Gravity of Olivine =3.30 gm/cc.
Fermion Index: Fermion Index = 0.03
Boson Index = 0.97 Photoelectric: PE_Olivine = 5.56 barns/electron
U=PE_Olivine x rElectron Density= 18.11 barns/cc.
Radioactivity: GRapi = 0 (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units)
Olivine is Not Radioactive  

Olivine Classification

Dana Class: 51.03.01.00 (51)Nesosilicate Insular SiO4 Groups Only   (51.03)with all cations in octahedral [6] coordination   (51.03.01)Olivine group  

51.03.01.00 Olivine* (Mg,Fe)2SiO4 Pbnm 2/m 2/m 2/m

 

51.03.01.01 Fayalite Fe2SiO4 Pbnm 2/m 2/m 2/m

 

51.03.01.02 Forsterite Mg2SiO4 Pbnm 2/m 2/m 2/m

 

51.03.01.03 Liebenbergite (Ni,Mg)2SiO4 Pbnm 2/m 2/m 2/m

 

51.03.01.04 Tephroite Mn2SiO4 P nma 2/m 2/m 2/m

 

51.03.01.05 Laihunite FeFe2(SiO4)2 P 2₁/b 2/m

Strunz Class: 09.AC.05 09 - SILICATES (Germanates)   09.A - Nesosilicates   09.AC -Nesosilicates without additional anions;  

09.AC.05 Forsterite Mg2SiO4 Pbnm 2/m 2/m 2/m

 

09.AC.05 Glaucochroite CaMnSiO4 Pbnm 2/m 2/m 2/m

 

09.AC.05 Fayalite Fe2SiO4 Pbnm 2/m 2/m 2/m

 

09.AC.05 Olivine* (Mg,Fe)2SiO4 Pbnm 2/m 2/m 2/m

 

09.AC.05 Kirschsteinite CaFeSiO4 Pbmn 2/m 2/m 2/m

 

09.AC.05 Laihunite FeFe2(SiO4)2 P 2₁/b 2/m

 

09.AC.05 Liebenbergite (Ni,Mg)2SiO4 Pbnm 2/m 2/m 2/m

 

09.AC.05 Tephroite Mn2SiO4 P nma 2/m 2/m 2/m

 

Other Olivine Information

References: NAME( Duda&Rejl90) PHYS. PROP.(Dana) OPTIC PROP.(Dana) See Also: Links to other databases for Olivine :
1 - Am. Min. Crystal Structure Database
2 - Amethyst Galleries' Mineral Gallery
3 - Amethyst Galleries' Mineral Gallery
4 - Athena
5 - CalTech Mineral Spectroscopy
6 - GeoScienceWorld
7 - Glendale Community College
8 - Google Images
9 - Google Scholar
10 - HyperPhysics
11 - MinDAT
12 - Mineral and Gemstone Kingdom
13 - Mineralienatlas (Deutsch)
14 - Minerals in Thin Section-University of North Carolina
15 - Minerals in Thin Sections-Humboldt State
16 - Online Mineral Museum
17 - Philatelic Mineralogy
18 - QUT Mineral Atlas
19 - Ruff.Info
20 - Tradeshop.com - The Rainbow of Gems
21 - UCLA - Petrography Thin-Sections
22 - University of Colorado - Mineral Structure Data
23 - University of Texas at Austin
24 - WWW-MINCRYST
[AOL] [Bing] [Dog Pile] [GeoScienceWorld] [HotBot] [Ixquick] [Lycos] [MAMMA] [Scirus] [Teoma] [WebCrawler] [Wikipedia] [YAHOO]

Visit our Advertisers for Olivine :

A Bijoux Google Search for Olivine
Adam's Minerals Google Search for Olivine
Cape Minerals Google Search for Olivine
Dakota Matrix Minerals Google Search for Olivine
Excalibur Mineral Corp. Google Search for Olivine
Exceptional Minerals Google Search for Olivine
John Betts Fine Minerals Search for Olivine
McDougall Minerals Google Search for Olivine
Mineral News Website Link
Rock and Mineral Shows Google Search for Olivine
Weinrich Minerals, Inc. Google Search for Olivine

Ask about Olivine here :
Ask-A-Mineralogist from the Mineralogical Society of America
Mindat.org's Discussion Groups
Original Rockhounds Discussion Group
Rockhounds Discussion Group on Yahoo Groups
Mineral Discussion Forum from Fabre Minerals - also available in Español

Print or Cut-and-Paste your Olivine Specimen Label here :