Feldspar Totally Explained

Everything about Feldspar totally explained

Feldspar is the name of a group of rock-forming minerals which make up as much as 60% of the Earth's crust.
Feldspars crystallize from magma in both intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks, and they can also occur as compact minerals, as veins, and are also present in many types of metamorphic rock. Rock formed entirely of plagioclase feldspar (see below) is known as anorthosite. Feldspars are also found in many types of sedimentary rock.

Etymology

Feldspar is derived from the German Feld, field, and Spat, a rock that doesn't contain ore. "Feldspathic" refers to materials that contain feldspar. The alternative spelling, felspar, has now largely fallen out of use.

Compositions

This group of minerals consists of framework or tectosilicates. Compositions of major elements in common feldspars can be expressed in terms of three endmembers:
K-feldspar endmember K Al Si₃O₈ Anorthite endmember Ca Al₂Si₂O₈ Solid solutions between K-feldspar and albite are called alkali feldspar. Solid solutions between albite and anorthite are called plagioclase, or more properly plagioclase feldspar. Only limited solid solution occurs between K-feldspar and anorthite, and in the two other solid solutions, immiscibility occurs at temperatures common in the crust of the earth. Albite is considered both a plagioclase and alkali feldspar. In addition to albite, barium feldspars are also considered both alkali and plagioclase feldspars. Barium feldspars form as potassium is replaced by barium.
The alkali feldspars are as follows:

orthoclase (monoclinic), — KAlSi₃O₈
sanidine (monoclinic) —(K,Na)AlSi₃O₈
microcline (triclinic) — KAlSi₃O₈
anorthoclase (triclinic) — (Na,K)AlSi₃O₈

Sanidine is stable at the highest temperatures, and microcline at the lowest. Perthite is a typical texture in alkali feldspar, due to exsolution of contrasting alkali feldspar compositions during cooling of an intermediate composition. The perthitic textures in the alkali feldspars of many granites can be seen with the naked eye. Microperthitic textures in crystals are visible using a light microscope, whereas cryptoperthitic textures can only be seen using an electron microscope.
The plagioclase feldspars are triclinic. The plagioclase series follows (with percent anorthite in parentheses):

albite (0 to 10) — NaAlSi₃O₈

oligoclase (10 to 30) — (Na,Ca)(Al,Si)AlSi₂O₈

andesine (30 to 50) — NaAlSi₃O₈ — CaAl₂Si₂O₈

labradorite (50 to 70) — (Ca,Na)Al(Al,Si)Si₂O₈

bytownite (70 to 90) — (NaSi,CaAl)AlSi₂O₈

anorthite (90 to 100) — CaAl₂Si₂O₈ Intermediate compositions of plagioclase feldspar also may exsolve to two feldspars of contrasting composition during cooling, but diffusion is much slower than in alkali feldspar, and the resulting two-feldspar intergrowths typically are too fine-grained to be visible with optical microscopes. The immiscibility gaps in the plagioclase solid solution are complex compared to the gap in the alkali feldspars. The play of colors visible in some feldspar of labradorite composition is due to very fine-grained exsolution lamellae.
The barium feldspars are monoclinic and comprise the following:

celsian — BaAlSi₃O₈

hyalophane — (K,Na,Ba)(Al,Si)₄O₈

Uses

Feldspar is a common raw material in the production of ceramics and geopolymers.

Feldspars are used for thermoluminescence dating and optical dating in earth sciences and archaeology

Feldspar is an ingredient in Bon Ami US brand household cleaner.

Feldspar is often an anti-caking agent used in powdered forms of non-dairy creamer. In 2005, Italy was the top producer of feldspar with almost one-fifth world share followed by Turkey, China and Thailand, reports the International Monetary Fund.

Further Information

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