The document describes 38 different crystal habits that minerals can take, defined as the distinctive external form or structure that crystals exhibit. Some examples of crystal habits include acicular (needle-like), amygdoidal (almond-shaped), botryoidal (grape-like), columnar (long slender prisms), cubic, and fibrous (extremely slender prisms). Mineral crystal structure results from the orderly geometric arrangement of atoms, while crystal habit represents the observable external shape and form that the crystals exhibit.
The document describes 38 different crystal habits that minerals can take, defined as the distinctive external form or structure that crystals exhibit. Some examples of crystal habits include acicular (needle-like), amygdoidal (almond-shaped), botryoidal (grape-like), columnar (long slender prisms), cubic, and fibrous (extremely slender prisms). Mineral crystal structure results from the orderly geometric arrangement of atoms, while crystal habit represents the observable external shape and form that the crystals exhibit.
The document describes 38 different crystal habits that minerals can take, defined as the distinctive external form or structure that crystals exhibit. Some examples of crystal habits include acicular (needle-like), amygdoidal (almond-shaped), botryoidal (grape-like), columnar (long slender prisms), cubic, and fibrous (extremely slender prisms). Mineral crystal structure results from the orderly geometric arrangement of atoms, while crystal habit represents the observable external shape and form that the crystals exhibit.
The document describes 38 different crystal habits that minerals can take, defined as the distinctive external form or structure that crystals exhibit. Some examples of crystal habits include acicular (needle-like), amygdoidal (almond-shaped), botryoidal (grape-like), columnar (long slender prisms), cubic, and fibrous (extremely slender prisms). Mineral crystal structure results from the orderly geometric arrangement of atoms, while crystal habit represents the observable external shape and form that the crystals exhibit.
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Crystal structure and habit:
Crystal structure results from the orderly geometric spatial arrangement of atoms in the internal structure of a mineral. This crystal structure is based on regular internal atomic or ionic arrangement that is often expressed in the geometric form that the crystal takes. Even when the mineral grains are too small to see or are irregularly shaped, the underlying crystal structure is always periodic and can be determined by X-ray diffraction. The following are different types of minerals crystal habits: 1. Acicular : Needle-like, slender and/or tapered e.g.: Natrolite, Rutile, etc. 2. Amygdaloidal : Almond-shaped e.g.: Heulandite, sub-hedral Zircon, etc. 3. Bladed : Blade-like, slender and flattened e.g.: Actinolite, Kyanite 4. Botryoidal or globular: Grape-like, hemispherical masses e.g.: Hematite, Pyrite, Malachite, Smithsonite, Hemimorphite, Adamite, Variscite 5. Columnar: Long, slender prisms often with parallel growth e.g.: Calcite, Gypsum/Selenite 6. Coxcomb : Aggregated flaky or tabular crystals closely spaced e.g.: Barite, Marcasite 7. Cubic: Cube shape e.g.: Pyrite, Galena, Halite 8. Dendritic : Tree-like, branching in one or more direction from central point e.g.: Romanechite and other Mn-oxide minerals, magnesite, native copper 9. Dodecahedral: Rhombic dodecahedron, 12-sided e.g.: Garnet 10. Drusy or encrustation: Aggregate of minute crystals coating a surface or cavity e.g.: Uvarovite, Malachite, Azurite 11.Enantiomorphic : Mirror-image habit (i.e. crystal twinning) and optical characteristics; right- and left-handed crystals e.g.: Quartz, Plagioclase, Staurolite 12. Equant, stout: Length, width, and breadth roughly equal e.g.: Olivine, Garnet 13. Fibrous: Extremely slender prisms e.g.: Serpentine group, Tremolite (i.e. Asbestos) 14. Filiform or capillary: Hair-like or thread-like, extremely fine e.g.: many Zeolites 15. Foliated or micaceous or lamellar: Layered structure, parting into thin sheets e.g.: Mica (Muscovite, Biotite, etc.) 16. Granular: Aggregates of anhedral crystals in matrix e.g.: Bornite, Scheelite 17. Hemimorphic: Doubly terminated crystal with two differently shaped ends. e.g.: Hemimorphite, Elbaite
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Hexagonal: Hexagon shape, six-sided e.g.: Quartz, Hanksite 19. Hopper crystals: Like cubic, but outer portions of cubes grow faster than inner portions, creating a concavity e.g.: Halite, Calcite, synthetic Bismuth 20. Mammillary : Breast-like: surface formed by intersecting partial spherical shapes, larger version of botryoidal, also concentric layered aggregates e.g.: Malachite, Hematite 21. Massive or compact : Shapeless, no distinctive external crystal shape e.g.: Limonite, Turquoise, Cinnabar, Realgar 22. Nodular or tuberose : Deposit of roughly spherical form with irregular protuberances e.g.: Chalcedony, various Geodes 23. Octahedral : Octahedron, eight-sided (two pyramids base to base) e.g.: Diamond, Magnetite 24. Plumose : Fine, feather-like scales e.g.: Aurichalcite, Boulangerite, Mottramite 25. Prismatic : Elongate, prism-like: crystal faces parallel to c-axis well-developed e.g.: Tourmaline, Beryl 26. Pseudo-hexagonal : Hexagonal appearance due to cyclic twinning e.g.: Aragonite, Chrysoberyl 27. Radiating or divergent : Radiating outward from a central point e.g.: Wavellite, Pyrite suns 28. Reniform or colloform : Similar to botryoidal/mamillary: intersecting kidney-shaped masses e.g.: Hematite, Pyrolusite, Greenockite 29. Reticulated : Crystals forming net-like intergrowths e.g.: Cerussite 30. Rosette or lenticular (lens shaped crystals): Platy, radiating rose-like aggregate e.g.: Gypsum, Barite (i.e. Desert rose) 31. Sphenoid : Wedge-shaped e.g.: Sphene 32. Stalactitic : Forming as stalactites or stalagmites; cylindrical or cone-shaped e.g.: Calcite, Goethite 33. Stellate : Star-like, radiating e.g.: Pyrophyllite, Aragonite 34. Striated : Not a habit per se, but a condition of lines that can grow on certain crystal faces on certain minerals e.g.: Tourmaline, Pyrite, Quartz, Feldspar, Sphalerite 35. Stubby or blocky or tabular: More elongated than equant, slightly longer than wide, flat tablet shaped e.g.: Feldspar, Topaz 36. Platy : Flat, tablet-shaped, prominent pinnacoid
