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biotite
[ bahy-uh-tahyt ]
noun
- a very common mineral of the mica group, occurring in black, dark-brown, or dark-green sheets and flakes: an important constituent of igneous and metamorphic rocks.
biotite
/ ˈbaɪəˌtaɪt; ˌbaɪəˈtɪtɪk /
noun
- a black or dark green mineral of the mica group, found in igneous and metamorphic rocks. Composition: hydrous magnesium iron potassium aluminium silicate. Formula: K(Mg,Fe) 3 (Al,Fe)Si 3 O 10 (OH) 2 . Crystal structure: monoclinic
biotite
/ bī′ə-tīt′ /
- A dark-brown or dark-green to black mica. Biotite is monoclinic and is found in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. Chemical formula: K(Mg,Fe) 3 (Al,Fe)Si 3 O 10 (OH) 2 .
Derived Forms
- biotitic, adjective
Other Words From
- bi·o·tit·ic [bahy-, uh, -, tit, -ik], adjective
Word History and Origins
Example Sentences
Slates, shales and clays yield biotite hornfelses in which the most conspicuous mineral is black mica, in small scales which under the microscope are transparent and have a dark reddish-brown colour and strong dichroism.
The snowy white feldspar and quartz set off the glittering crystals of hornblende and biotite wonderfully.
The biotite is brown; the hornblende brown or greenish brown; the augite usually green.
The commonest accessory minerals are tourmaline, topaz, apatite, fluorspar and iron oxides; a little felspar more or less altered may also be present and a brown mica which is biotite or lithionite.
Exceptions to this sequence are unusual; sometimes the first of the felspars have preceded the hornblende or biotite which may envelop them in ophitic manner.
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