CONCHOIDAL
FRACTURE
OF
OPAL

WHAT IS
FRACTURE?



Fracture is a description of the way a mineral tends to break. It is different from cleavage and parting which are generally clean flat breaks along specific directions. Fracture occurs in all minerals even ones with cleavage, although a lot of cleavage directions can diminish the appearance of fracture surfaces. Different minerals will break in different ways and leave a surface that can be described in a recognizable way. Is the broken area smooth? Irregular? Jagged? Splintery? These are some of the ways of describing fracture.

Although many minerals break in similar ways, some have a unique fracture and this can be diagnostic.


OTHER PROPERTIES:

Color | Luster | Diaphaneity | Crystal Systems | Technical Crystal Habits | Descriptive Crystal Habits | Twinning | Cleavage | Fracture | Hardness | Specific Gravity | Streak | Associated Minerals | Notable Localities | Fluorescence | Phosphorescence | Triboluminescence | Thermoluminescence | Index of Refraction | Birefringence | Double Refraction | Dispersion | Pleochroism | Asterism | Chatoyancy | Parting | Striations | radioactivity | Magnetism | Odor | Feel | Taste | Solubility | Electrical properties | Reaction to acids | Thermal properties | Phantoms | Inclusions | Pseudomorphs | Meteoritic Minerals
 

Google
 

Copyright ©1995-2008 by Amethyst Galleries, Inc.
Site design & programming by galleries.com web services