Chalcedony

Chalcedony
General
CategorySilicate minerals, quartz group
Formula
(repeating unit)		Silica (silicon dioxide, SiO
2)
Crystal systemTrigonal or monoclinic
Identification
Formula mass60 g/mol
ColorVarious
CleavageAbsent
FractureUneven, splintery, conchoidal
Mohs scale hardness6–7
LusterWaxy, vitreous, dull, greasy, silky
StreakWhite
DiaphaneityTranslucent
Specific gravity2.59–2.61
References[1]

Chalcedony (/kælˈsɛdəni/ kal-SED-ə-nee, or /ˈkælsəˌdoʊni/ KAL-sə-doh-nee)[2] is a cryptocrystalline form of silica, composed of very fine intergrowths of quartz and moganite.[3] These are both silica minerals, but they differ in that quartz has a trigonal crystal structure, while moganite is monoclinic. Chalcedony's standard chemical structure (based on the chemical structure of quartz) is SiO2 (silicon dioxide).

Chalcedony has a waxy luster, and may be semitransparent or translucent. It can assume a wide range of colors, but those most commonly seen are white to gray, grayish-blue or a shade of brown ranging from pale to nearly black. The color of chalcedony sold commercially is often enhanced by dyeing or heating.[4]

The name chalcedony comes from the Latin chalcedonius (alternatively spelled calchedonius) and is probably derived from the town of Chalcedon in Turkey.[5] The name appears in Pliny the Elder's Naturalis Historia as a term for a translucent kind of jaspis.[6] Another reference to a gem by the name of khalkedón (χαλκηδών) is found in the Book of Revelation (21:19); however, it is a hapax legomenon, found nowhere else in the Bible, so it is hard to tell whether the precious gem mentioned in Revelation is the same as the mineral known by this name today.[7] The term plasma is sometimes used to refer to green translucent chalcedony.[8]

A rare pseudomorph of a spiral Turritella-like snail shell that has been replaced by chalcedony
  1. ^ Duda, Rudolf; Rejl, Lubos (1990). Minerals of the World. Arch Cape Press.
  2. ^ "chalcedony". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.
  3. ^ Heaney, Peter J. (1994). "Structure and Chemistry of the low-pressure silica polymorphs". In Heaney, P. J.; Prewitt, C. T.; Gibbs, G. V. (eds.). Silica: Physical Behavior, geochemistry and materials applications. Reviews in Mineralogy. Vol. 29. pp. 1–40.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference gemsociety was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Zwierlein-Diehl, Erika (2007). Antike Gemmen und ihr Nachleben. Berlin: Verlag Walter de Gruyter. S. 307. According to the OED, however, a connection with the town of Chalcedon is "very doubtful":Harper, Douglas. "Chalcedony". Online Etymology Dictionary.
  6. ^ Pliny the Elder. "chapter 7". Naturalis Historiae. Vol. Book 37. p. 115.
  7. ^ James Orr, ed. (1915). "Chalkēdōn". The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia. The Howard-Severance company. p. 2859.
  8. ^ Hart, Gilbert (1 Nov 1927). "The nomenclature of silica" (PDF). American Mineralogist. 12 (11). Mineralogical Society of America: 392.