orthoclase
a common white or pink mineral of the feldspar group, KAlSi3O8, having two good cleavages at right angles, and found in silica-rich igneous rocks: used in the manufacture of porcelain.
Origin of orthoclase
1Words Nearby orthoclase
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How to use orthoclase in a sentence
There is also some variation in the amount of quartz present, and in the relative importance of the orthoclase and plagioclase.
Mount Rainier | Variousorthoclase becomes a clear glass filled with bubbles: at a lower temperature beryl behaves in the same way.
It often occurs as a constituent of granite, not unfrequently being associated in the same rock with pink felspar or orthoclase.
Geology | James GeikieSanidine, san′i-din, n. a clear glassy variety of orthoclase.
Vogesites contain hornblende and orthoclase; spessartites, hornblende and plagioclase.
British Dictionary definitions for orthoclase
/ (ˈɔːθəʊˌkleɪs, -ˌkleɪz) /
a white to pale yellow, red, or green mineral of the feldspar group, found in igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. It is used in the manufacture of glass and ceramics. Composition: potassium aluminium silicate. Formula: KAlSi 3 O 8 . Crystal structure: monoclinic
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for orthoclase
[ ôr′thə-klās′ ]
A white to yellowish red monoclinic mineral of the potassium feldspar group that forms from medium- to low-temperature magmas. Chemical formula: KAlSi3O8.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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