emakaarterite

Emakaarterite is a fictional mineral species used in geology education to illustrate mineral identification and crystal-structure concepts. In instructional materials, emakaarterite is described as a monoclinic framework silicate with a simplified empirical formula (Fe2+,Mg)3Al2Si4O12(OH)2, reflecting a composition dominated by iron, magnesium, aluminum, and silicon, with hydroxide groups.

Physical properties attributed in teaching sources include a pale green to gray color, white to pale green streak, and a vitreous to resinous luster. It is described as having a Mohs hardness around 6, with perfect cleavage on (010) and good cleavage on (001), a conchoidal to uneven fracture, and a specific gravity near 3.0–3.2 g/cm3. Crystals are typically prismatic to tabular, and the mineral is translucent to transparent in well-formed specimens.

Occurrence and synthesis notes indicate that emakaarterite has no confirmed natural occurrence in real-world geology. It is commonly produced in controlled laboratory syntheses or appears in computer models and classroom databases to demonstrate refinement of mineral identification, classification, and structure-determination techniques.

Etymology and classification: The name emakaarterite derives from a fictional region and the standard mineral suffix -ite, placed within a pedagogical silicate-mineral framework to emphasize the practice of generic mineral naming.

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