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Mineral

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.

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
Chemical Formula
Mg2SiO4 1
Chemical Formula
Mg2SiO4 1
Hardness (Mohs)
7 1
Hardness (Mohs)
7 1
Colour
Colourless or White 2
Colour
Colourless or White 2
Colour
Orange or Yellow 2
Colour
Orange or Yellow 2
Colour
Green 2
Colour
Green 2
Lustre
Vitreous 2
Lustre
Vitreous 2
Classification
Strunz Class
Silicates 1
Strunz Class
Silicates 1
Crystal System
Orthorhombic 1
Crystal System
Orthorhombic 1
Use
Gemstone 1
Use
Gemstone 1
Connections

Caused By

Fractional Crystallization, Processes
Source Forsterite (Wikipedia)
Magmatism, Processes
Source Forsterite (Wikipedia)
Metamorphism, Processes
Source Forsterite (Wikipedia)

Crystallizes In System

Orthorhombic Crystal System, Concepts
Orthorhombic Crystal System, Concepts

In Discipline

Mineralogy, Disciplines
In the Other Atlases

Mineral Species Of

Peridot

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
2. Webmineral: Forsterite
Webmineral
  • Color field
    Colorless, Green, Yellow, Yellow green, White.
  • Luster field
    Vitreous (Glassy)
View the Source
Forsterite (Wikipedia)
  • Caused By: Fractional Crystallization, Geologic occurrence
    Due to its high melting point, olivine crystals are the first minerals to precipitate from a magmatic melt in a cumulate process, often with orthopyroxenes.
  • Caused By: Magmatism, Geologic occurrence
    Forsterite-rich olivine is a common crystallization product of mantle-derived magma.
  • Caused By: Metamorphism, Geologic occurrence
    Forsterite also occurs in dolomitic marble which results from the metamorphism of high magnesium limestones and dolomites.
View the Source
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