Vladimirite
Encyclopedia
Vladimirite has a general chemical formula
of Ca5 [(HAsO4)2|(AsO4)2]·5H2O. It is named after the Vladimirovskoye deposit
in Russia
, where it was discovered in the 1950s. Vladimirite is a secondary mineral in the oxidized zone of arsenic-bearing mineral deposits.
Vladimirite is monoclinic-prismatic, which means crystallographically, it contains three axes of unequal length and the angles between two of the axes are 90 degrees, and one is less than 90 degrees. It belongs to the space group P21/c. The mineral also has an orthorhombic polytype. In terms of its optical properties, Vladimirite is anisotropic which means the velocity of light varies depending on direction through the mineral. Relief is a diagnostic characteristic of a mineral in plane polarized light that refers to the various ways different minerals "stand out". Vladimirite's calculated relief is 1.65-1.661, which is moderate. It is colorless in plane polarized light, and it is weakly pleochroic. Pleochroism is the variety of colors under plane polarized light displayed by crystals at various angles.
Importance:
Vladimirite has not yet been structurally studied. However, ferrasite, a polymorph of vladimirite, has been the subject of several structural and crystal-chemical scientific studies. Ferrasite has peculiar and very complicated dehydration behaviour. Ferrasite dehydrates very slowly in dry air at room temperature.
Chemical formula
A chemical formula or molecular formula is a way of expressing information about the atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound....
of Ca5 [(HAsO4)2|(AsO4)2]·5H2O. It is named after the Vladimirovskoye deposit
Deposition (geology)
Deposition is the geological process by which material is added to a landform or land mass. Fluids such as wind and water, as well as sediment flowing via gravity, transport previously eroded sediment, which, at the loss of enough kinetic energy in the fluid, is deposited, building up layers of...
in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, where it was discovered in the 1950s. Vladimirite is a secondary mineral in the oxidized zone of arsenic-bearing mineral deposits.
Vladimirite is monoclinic-prismatic, which means crystallographically, it contains three axes of unequal length and the angles between two of the axes are 90 degrees, and one is less than 90 degrees. It belongs to the space group P21/c. The mineral also has an orthorhombic polytype. In terms of its optical properties, Vladimirite is anisotropic which means the velocity of light varies depending on direction through the mineral. Relief is a diagnostic characteristic of a mineral in plane polarized light that refers to the various ways different minerals "stand out". Vladimirite's calculated relief is 1.65-1.661, which is moderate. It is colorless in plane polarized light, and it is weakly pleochroic. Pleochroism is the variety of colors under plane polarized light displayed by crystals at various angles.
Importance:
Vladimirite has not yet been structurally studied. However, ferrasite, a polymorph of vladimirite, has been the subject of several structural and crystal-chemical scientific studies. Ferrasite has peculiar and very complicated dehydration behaviour. Ferrasite dehydrates very slowly in dry air at room temperature.