Earth and Environment Atlas

How The Planet Works
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Material

Forsterite

Silicate Minerals

Forsterite (Mg2SiO4, also known as white olivine) is the magnesium-rich end member of the olivine solid solution series and is isomorphous with the iron-rich end member, fayalite. It crystallizes in the orthorhombic system and is associated with igneous and metamorphic rocks, and it has been found in meteorites, in cometary dust returned by the Stardust probe in 2005, and as tiny crystals in the dusty gas clouds around a forming star. Peridot is the gemstone variety of forsterite olivine. In this atlas it is the mineral species that the gemstone peridot records.

Facts
Classification
Crystal System
Orthorhombic 1
Classification
Silicate Mineral 1
Use
Gemstone 1
Kind
Mineral 1
Chemical Formula
Mg2SiO4 1
Hardness (Mohs)
7 1
Connections

Classified As

Crystallizes In System

In Discipline

In the Other Atlases

Mineral Species Of

Also in Divinity Atlas: of this mineral species.

Sources
1. Forsterite (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Forsterite, lead paragraph
    is the magnesium-rich end-member of the olivine solid solution series
  • Forsterite, article text
    Peridot is the gemstone variety of forsterite olivine.
View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.