pyroxene

Noun

Meaning

A common mineral occurring in monoclinic crystals, with a prismatic angle of nearly 90¡, and also in massive forms which are often laminated. It varies in color from white to dark green and black, and includes many varieties differing in color and composition, as diopside, malacolite, salite, coccolite, augite, etc. They are all silicates of lime and magnesia with sometimes alumina and iron. Pyroxene is an essential constituent of many rocks, especially basic igneous rocks, as basalt, gabbro, etc.

Synonyms

Hypernyms

Examples

The precise thicknesses of the different layers in the interior of Ganymede depend on the assumed composition of silicates (fraction of olivine and pyroxene ) and amount of sulfur in the core. Source: Internet

The calcium rich plagioclase feldspar ( labradorite bytownite ) and pyroxene content vary between 10% - 90% in gabbro. Source: Internet

The chief differences from pyroxenes are that (i) amphiboles contain essential hydroxyl (OH) or halogen (F, Cl) and (ii) the basic structure is a double chain of tetrahedra (as opposed to the single chain structure of pyroxene). Source: Internet

Olivine and pyroxene were detected on Ida by Galileo. Source: Internet

Close letter words and terms