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Spinel

Oxide Minerals

Spinel is the magnesium and aluminium member of the larger spinel group of minerals, with the formula MgAl2O4 in the cubic crystal system. The name comes from the Latin word spinella, a diminutive of spine, in reference to its pointed crystals. It crystallizes in the isometric system, commonly as twinned octahedra, has a hardness of 8, and may be colorless but usually comes in shades of red, lavender, blue, green, brown, black or yellow. Some spinels are among the most famous gemstones, including the Black Prince's Ruby and the Timur Ruby in the British Crown Jewels. In this atlas it is the mineral species that spinel gemstones record.

Facts
Kind
Mineral 1
Chemical Formula
MgAl2O4 1
Hardness (Mohs)
8 1
The Wikipedia article states that its hardness is 8.
Classification
Crystal System
Cubic (Isometric) 1
Classification
Oxide Mineral 1
Use
Gemstone 1
Connections

Classified As

Entity-backed identity for the material classification this material already carries as an enum fact, pointing at the class subcategory of the same name. The enum fact itself stays on the entity unchanged.

Crystallizes In System

Entity-backed identity for the crystal system this mineral already carries as an enum fact, phase 3 bucket conversion (docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md, w-bucketconv-divmore2-0929). The original fact stays on the entry unchanged.

In Discipline

In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Spinel (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Spinel, lead paragraph
    It has the formula MgAl2O4 in the cubic crystal system.
  • Spinel, article text
    Its hardness is 8
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