Tritomite-(Ce) Mineral Data

Tritomite-(Ce) Mineral Data +

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General Tritomite-(Ce) Information

Chemical Formula:

(Ce,La,Ca,Y,Th)5(Si,B)3(O,OH,F)13

Composition:

Molecular Weight = 787.79 gm

Calcium 10.17 % Ca 14.24 % CaO

Lanthanum 17.63 % La 20.68 % La₂O₃

Cerium 26.68 % Ce 31.25 % Ce₂O₃

Yttrium 3.95 % Y 5.02 % Y₂O₃

Thorium 4.42 % Th 5.03 % ThO₂

Silicon 8.91 % Si 19.07 % SiO₂

Boron 0.69 % B 2.21 % B₂O₃

Hydrogen 0.38 % H 3.43 % H₂O

Oxygen 22.34 % O

Fluorine 4.82 % F 4.82 % F

- % F -2.03 % -O=F₂

______ ______

100.00 % 103.71 % = TOTAL OXIDE

Empirical Formula:

5(Ce_0.3)5(Ca_0.4)5(La_0.2)5(Y_0.07)5(Th_0.03)Si_2.5B_0.5O₈(OH)₃F₂

Environment:

Nepheline Syenite.

IMA Status:

Valid Species (Pre-IMA) 1849

Locality:

Laven Island, Langesundfiord district, near Brevik, southern Norway. Link to MinDat.org Location Data.

Name Origin:

Named from the Greek for "three" and "to cut," in allusion to the trihedral cavities left in the host rock by the crystals.

Synonym:

Tritomite

Tritomite-(Ce) Image

Images:

Tritomite-(Ce)

Comments: Dark brown, vitreous grains of tritomite-(Ce) in pegmatite matrix.
Location: Langesundsfjorden, Larvik, Vestfold, Norway. Scale: Crystal size 1 cm.
© Tom Loomis / Dakota Matrix

Tritomite-(Ce) Crystallography

Axial Ratios:

a:c = 1:0.73582

Cell Dimensions:

a = 9.35, c = 6.88, Z = 2; V = 520.89 Den(Calc)= 5.02

Crystal System:

Hexagonal - DipyramidalH-M Symbol (6/m) Space Group: P 6₃/m

$Help on X Ray Diffraction:$ X Ray Diffraction:

By Intensity(I/I_o): 2.81(1), 1.84(0.4), 3.44(0.4),

Physical Properties of Tritomite-(Ce)

Cleavage:

None

Color:

Dark brown.

Density:

4.2

Diaphaniety:

Translucent to Subopaque

Fracture:

Brittle - Conchoidal - Very brittle fracture producing small, conchoidal fragments.

Habit:

Metamict - Mineral originally crystalline, now amorphous due to radiation damage.

Habit:

Pyramidal - Crystals are shaped like pyramids.

Hardness:

5.5 - Knife Blade

Luster:

Vitreous - Resinous

Optical Properties of Tritomite-(Ce)

Gladstone-Dale:

CI meas= 0.073 (Fair) - where the CI = (1-KPDmeas/KC)
CI calc= 0.225 (Poor) - where the CI = (1-KPDcalc/KC)
KPDcalc= 0.1401,KPDmeas= 0.1675,KC= 0.1808

Optical Data:

Isotropic, n=1.65-1.757.

Calculated Properties of Tritomite-(Ce)

Electron Density:

r_electron=3.81 gm/cc
note: r_{Tritomite-(Ce)}=4.20 gm/cc.

Fermion Index

Fermion Index = 0.00593
Boson Index = 0.99407

Photoelectric:

PE_{Tritomite-(Ce)}= 328.36 barns/electron
U=PE_{Tritomite-(Ce)} x r_electron=1,252.21 barns/cc.

Radioactivity:

GRapi = 85,580.73 (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units)

Tritomite-(Ce) is Radioactive as defined in 49 CFR 173.403. Greater than 70 Bq / gram.

Estimated Maximum U.S. Postal Shipping Size (10 mRem/hr limit, Unshielded 10 cm box) 355.41 ± 88.85 grams of pure Tritomite-(Ce) .

**Estimated Radioactivity from Tritomite-(Ce)** - weak
Specimen Size Weight/Volume (Sphere) *	Calculated Activity Bequerols (Bq)	Calculated Activity Curies (Ci)	Estimated Activity GR(api)	Estimated Exposure (mRem**)/hr If Held in Hand For One Hour
1000 gm / 7.69 cm	1,979,327	5.35E-05	85,580.73	28.14
100 gm / 3.57 cm	197,933	5.35E-06	8,558.07	2.81
10 gm / 1.66 cm	19,793	5.35E-07	855.81	0.28
1 gm / 7.69 mm	1,979	5.35E-08	85.58	0.03
0.1 gm / 3.57 mm	198	5.35E-09	8.56	0.00
0.01 gm / 1.66 mm	20	5.35E-10	0.86	0.00
0.001 gm / 0.77 mm	2	5.35E-11	0.09	0.00

Weight of pure Tritomite-(Ce) in grams (gm) and Calculated Diameter of a Sphere with a Density of 4.20 gm/cc.*
Goverment Estimate of Average Annual Exposure ( 360 mRem) **
Note: 10 microsieverts/hr = 1 mRem/hr **
Max Permissable Adult Dose 50,000 mRem/yr (hands), 15,000 mRem/yr (eyes)
Lethal Dose LD(50) Exposure 400,000 to 500,000 mRem

Tritomite-(Ce) Classification

Dana Class:

54.2.5.1 (54)Nesosilicate Borosilicates and Some Beryllosilicates

(54.2)with B in [4] coordination

(54.2.5)Tritomite group

54.2.5.1 Tritomite-(Ce) (Ce,La,Ca,Y,Th)5(Si,B)3(O,OH,F)13 P 6₃/m 6/m

54.2.5.2 Tritomite-(Y) (Y,Ca,La,Fe)5(Si,B,Al)3(O,OH,F)13(?) P 6₃/m 6/m

54.2.5.3 Melanocerite-(Ce) (Ce,Th,Ca)5(Si,B)3O12(OH,F)·n(H2O)(?) Unk (HEX-R) Trig

Strunz Class:

VIII/B.33-40 VIII - Silicates

VIII/B - Nesosubsilicates, with anions unfamiliar to tetraheders, with beryllium and boron

VIII/B.33 - Melanocerite-(Ce) - Tritomite-(Ce) series

VIII/B.33-10 Melanocerite-(Ce) (Ce,Th,Ca)5(Si,B)3O12(OH,F)·n(H2O)(?) Unk (HEX-R) Trig

VIII/B.33-20 Okanoganite-(Y) (Na,Ca)3(Y,Ce)12Si6B2O27F14 R 3m 3m

VIII/B.33-25 Vicanite-(Ce) (Ca,Ce,La,Th)15As(As0.5,Na0.5)FeSi6B4O40F7 R 3m 3m

VIII/B.33-30 Tritomite-(Y) (Y,Ca,La,Fe)5(Si,B,Al)3(O,OH,F)13(?) P 6₃/m 6/m

VIII/B.33-40 Tritomite-(Ce) (Ce,La,Ca,Y,Th)5(Si,B)3(O,OH,F)13 P 6₃/m 6/m

Other Tritomite-(Ce) Information

References:

NAME( Dana8) PHYS. PROP.(Enc. of Minerals,2nd ed.,1990) OPTIC PROP.(Enc. of Minerals,2nd ed.,1990)

See Also:

Links to other databases for Tritomite-(Ce) :
1 -Am. Min. Crystal Structure Database 2 -Athena 3 - EUROmin Project 4 -Google Images 5 -Google Scholar 6 -Handbook of Mineralogy (UofA) 7 -MinDAT 8 -MinMax(Deutsch) 9 -MinMax(English) 10 -Mineralienatlas (Deutsch) 11 -QUT Mineral Atlas 12 - Uranium Minerals

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Print or Cut-and-Paste your Tritomite-(Ce) Specimen Label here :

Tritomite-(Ce)

(Ce,La,Ca,Y,Th)5(Si,B)3(O,OH,F)13
Dana No: 54.2.5.1 Strunz No: VIII/B.33-40
Locality:

Notes: