silicates

Cultural  

1. The main minerals found in many rocks. Silicates are composed of atoms of silicon, oxygen, and elements such as potassium, sodium, or calcium, under great heat and pressure. Silicates make up about one-quarter of the crust of the Earth.

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Mica and quartz are silicates.

Example Sentences

“Heating of hydrogen-bearing regolith to several hundred degrees would result in some of the hydrogen reacting with oxygen in silicates to produce water almost anywhere on the moon,” he says.

From Scientific American

These planets could also form other minerals that are found on Earth, such as silicates and oxides.

From Fox News

The most common version is Portland cement, made from calcium silicates that react with water to make create a tough, hard matrix.

From Science Magazine

After all, old rings should be much more “polluted” with silicates, organic molecules and other compounds.

From Scientific American

In the past, researchers have suggested that if Saturn's rings were ancient, they would be littered with organic molecules, silicates and other material.

From Fox News