parliate

Parliate is a fictional mineral species introduced in speculative mineralogy and science fiction to illustrate the properties and potential uses of layered silicate minerals. It is described as a layered aluminosilicate with interlayer galleries that can host water molecules and small alkali cations, giving it a tunable chemistry.

In its idealized form, parliate has a generalized formula Al2Si4O12·nH2O with interlayer Na+ or K+ ions. Crystals are described as plate-like and commonly form in monoclinic symmetry, with a pale green to pale blue color and a vitreous luster. Reported hardness is in the range of 5 to 6 on the Mohs scale, and refractive index is around 1.52 to 1.58. The mineral is said to exhibit weak pleochroism and low birefringence, attributes that aid identification by standard petrographic methods.

Parliate is depicted as forming under hydrothermal conditions in ultramafic or alkali-rich environments, both in terrestrial fiction and in imagined planetary settings. In studies within its fictional context, it is often associated with cavity mineralization and with layers that can host ion exchange and molecular confinement.

Laboratory synthesis is described as possible through hydrothermal treatment of aluminosilicate precursors with alkali salts at elevated temperature and pressure, or by high-temperature solid-state reactions followed by controlled hydration. Proposed applications in imaginary technologies include ion exchange, catalysis, and energy storage, leveraging its interlayer chemistry and potential for reversible hydration.

The name parliate is attributed to a fictional discoverer, Dr. Parlia T. Ion, who purportedly identified its characteristic interlayer chemistry. For related concepts, see zeolites, layered silicates, and clay minerals.

References in this article refer to fictional publications created for illustrative purposes.