albite

American  

[al-bahyt] / ˈæl baɪt /

noun

Mineralogy.

1. the sodium end member of the plagioclase feldspar group, light-colored and found in alkalic igneous rocks.

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albite British  

/ ˈælbaɪt, ælˈbɪtɪk /

noun

1. a colourless, milky-white, yellow, pink, green, or black mineral of the feldspar group and plagioclase series, found in igneous sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. It is used in the manufacture of glass and ceramics. Composition: sodium aluminium silicate. Formula: NaALSi 3 O 8 . Crystal structure: triclinic

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albite Scientific  

/ ăl′bīt′ /

1. A clear to milky white triclinic mineral of the plagioclase group. Albite is common in igneous rocks, especially granite, and in metamorphic rocks that formed at low temperatures. Chemical formula: NaAlSi ₃ O ₈ .

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Other Word Forms

• albitic adjective

Etymology

Origin of albite

1835–45; < Latin alb ( us ) white + -ite ¹

Example Sentences

In chemical composition and in optical and other physical characters it is thus much nearer to the anorthite end of the series than to albite.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 4 "Bulgaria" to "Calgary" by Various

Some of the trachytic lavas are said to abound with crystals of albite.

From Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara, Volume I (Commodore B. Von Wullerstorf-Urbair,) Undertaken by Order of the Imperial Government in the Years 1857, 1858, & 1859, Under the Immediate Auspices of His I. and R. Highness the Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, Commander-In-Chief of the Austrian Navy. by Scherzer, Karl Ritter von

Among them are amethyst, and other varieties of crystal, of quartz, henlandite, stibite, analcine, chabasie, albite, nesotype, silicious sinter, and so on.

From Nature and Human Nature by Haliburton, Thomas Chandler

Practically all varieties of this mineral from anorthite to albite are known to occur in basalt, but by far the commonest species are bytownite and labradorite.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 3 "Banks" to "Bassoon" by Various

There are the feldspars, including albite and orthoclase.

From Let's Collect Rocks and Shells by Shell Union Oil Corporation