The study of minerals, the naturally occurring, chemically distinct solids rocks are built from: what they are made of, how their atoms pack into a crystal lattice, and what that structure predicts about hardness, cleavage and color. The field traces its founding insight to René Just Haüy in the late eighteenth century, who showed that a crystal's faces meet at angles expressible as simple whole-number ratios, proof that a crystal's outward shape reflects a periodic, orderly internal lattice rather than a random growth habit. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Central QuestionMineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. 1 ScopeMineralogy studies the chemistry, crystal structure, physical properties and formation of minerals, the naturally occurring inorganic solids that make up rocks. 1 SignificanceMineral identification underlies mining and materials science, and mineral assemblages record the pressure, temperature and chemical conditions under which a rock formed. 1 FAQs
What is the difference between mineralogy and petrology?
Mineralogy studies individual minerals; petrology studies rocks, which are usually mixtures of several minerals.
Mineralogy studies individual minerals, the naturally occurring inorganic solids with their own defined chemistry and crystal structure. Petrology studies rocks, which are typically mixtures of several minerals, and asks how those combinations formed and what they reveal about the conditions inside the Earth. A mineralogist might examine a single quartz crystal; a petrologist examines the granite that crystal is part of.
Connections
Associated With
Petrology reads the mineralogy of rocks; the two disciplines share their subject at different scales.
Source Petrology (Wikipedia)
Has Scientist
Appointed professor of mineralogy in 1822 at the Museum of Natural History in Paris.
Source Alexandre Brongniart (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia "Anselmus de Boodt": gemologist and founding figure of modern gemology/mineral collecting, a mineralogy theme.
Source Wikidata: Anselmus de Boodt
Wikipedia "Kingsley Dunham": "one of the leading British geologists and mineralogists of the 20th century."
Source Kingsley Dunham (Wikipedia)
Includes
Source Apatite (Wikipedia)
Source Mineral (Wikipedia)
Source Corundum (Wikipedia)
Source Mineral (Wikipedia)
Source Mineral (Wikipedia)
Source Fluorite (Wikipedia)
Source Goldschmidt Classification (Wikipedia)
Source Gypsum (Wikipedia)
Source Halite (Wikipedia)
Source Hematite (Wikipedia)
Source Magnetite (Wikipedia)
Source Mineral (Wikipedia)
Source Mohs Scale (Wikipedia)
Source Olivine (Wikipedia)
Source Mineral (Wikipedia)
Source Mineral (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Mineralogy (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead section
Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts.
History section
showed that crystals are periodic and established that the orientations of crystal faces can be expressed in terms of rational numbers (law of rational indices), as later encoded in the Miller indices.
View the Source Alexandre Brongniart (Wikipedia)
Goldschmidt Classification (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Goldschmidt Classification, Lead paragraphQuote, Includes: Goldschmidt Classification, Lead paragraph
The Goldschmidt classification, developed by Victor Goldschmidt (1888-1947), is a geochemical classification which groups the chemical elements within the Earth according to their preferred host phases into lithophile (rock-loving), siderophile (iron-loving), chalcophile (sulfide ore-loving or chalcogen-loving), and atmophile (gas-loving) or volatile (the element, or a compound in which it occurs, is liquid or gaseous at ambient surface conditions).
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