fluorite

fluorite

fluorite (fluorspar, Blue John) Mineral, CaF2;sp. gr. 3.2; hardness 4; cubic; often yellow, green, blue, or purple, but can be colourless, pink, red, or black, and often colour banded; white streak; vitreous lustre; crystals often cubes, but can be octahedra and rhombdodecahedra, and a mixture of forms; cleavage perfect {111}; widely distributed in mineral veins alone or as a gangue mineral with metallic ores, and in association with quartz, barite, calcite, galena, cassiterite, sphalerite, and many other minerals; soluble in sulphuric acid with the evolution of hydrogen sulphide. It is used extensively as a flux in the smelting of iron, in the ceramic industry, and in the chemical industry. The deep-purple, banded variety, Blue John, is used as an ornamental stone.

Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "fluorite." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "fluorite." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-fluorite.html

AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "fluorite." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-fluorite.html

Learn more about citation styles

fluorite

fluorite or fluorspar , mineral appearing in various colors, e.g., green, yellow-brown, rose, and red. Chemically, it is calcium fluoride, CaF 2 . Its crystals, commonly cubic, are transparent or translucent and under certain conditions exhibit fluorescence. The mineral also occurs in granular and massive forms. Fluorite is found in various parts of the world, especially in England, Germany, Mexico, and in Kentucky and Illinois in the United States. Its chief use is as a flux in metallurgy, but it is also employed in the preparation of hydrofluoric acid and in the manufacture of opal glass and enamel; some of its colorless crystals are used for making lenses and prisms.

Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

"fluorite." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"fluorite." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-fluorite.html

"fluorite." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-fluorite.html

Learn more about citation styles

fluorite

fluorite Calcium fluoride crystal, used as an optical material. Objective lenses made from fluorite are particularly free from chromatic aberration, since fluorite has approximately half the dispersion of crown glass. Its drawbacks are that it is very expensive and is attacked by water, so fluorite elements must be sealed between other elements.

Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

"fluorite." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"fluorite." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O80-fluorite.html

"fluorite." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O80-fluorite.html

Learn more about citation styles

fluorite

fluorite (fluorspar) Mineral, calcium fluoride (CaF2). It has cubic system crystals with granular and fibrous masses. Brittle and glassy, it can be yellow, purple or green. It is used as a flux in steel production and in ceramics and chemical industries. Hardness 4; r.d. 3.1.

Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

"fluorite." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"fluorite." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-fluorite.html

"fluorite." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-fluorite.html

Learn more about citation styles

fluorite

fluo·rite / ˈfloŏrˌīt; flôr-/ • n. a mineral consisting of calcium fluoride that typically occurs as cubic crystals, colorless when pure but often colored by impurities.

Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

"fluorite." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"fluorite." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-fluorite.html

"fluorite." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-fluorite.html

Learn more about citation styles

fluorite

fluoriteHamite, samite •marmite • Semite • Vegemite •eremite • Hashemite • Fatimite •chromite • Edomite • sodomite •stalagmite • Elamite • dolomite •Adullamite • dynamite • catamite •Benthamite •termite, thermite •Samnite • sennight • midnight •lignite • selenite • gelignite •kaolinite • Leninite •finite, transfinite •watchnight • fortnight • Sunnite •exurbanite, suburbanite, urbanite •manganite • ammonite • Mennonite •Canaanite • Maronite • bentonite •Irvingite • respite • alexandrite •Arkwright • cartwright • nephrite •playwright • wainwright •wheelwright • millwright •shipwright • copyright • Nazirite •pyrite • eyebright • nitrite • contrite •chlorite • forthright • downright •Fulbright • upright • meteorite •diorite • fluorite •Labourite (US Laborite) • sybarite •Thatcherite • phosphorite • azurite •anchorite • Hitlerite • dolerite •Amorite • Minorite • laterite •Hutterite • birthright

Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

"fluorite." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"fluorite." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-fluorite.html

"fluorite." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-fluorite.html

Learn more about citation styles

Free newspaper and magazine articles

China limits fluorite exports to conserve fluorite resources.(Inorganic)
Magazine article from: China Chemical Reporter; 9/6/2011
Serious wastage of fluorite resource in China.(Inorganics)
Magazine article from: China Chemical Reporter; 8/6/2009
China's export of fluorite resources grew rapidly in 1H 2010.(Inorganics)
Magazine article from: China Chemical Reporter; 10/21/2010

Facts and information from other sites

fluorite images
fluorite. (Image by Ra'ike, CC)