pyroxene
Sign in to savethumb|Pyroxene (diopside) crystals from [[Afghanistan]]
AI overview
Pyroxene is a common mineral found in rocks around the world, with diopside being one of its varieties. It matters to geologists and earth scientists because studying pyroxenes helps them understand the composition and history of rocks and the processes that form them.
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Article
6 sectionsContents
- Structure
- Chemistry and nomenclature
- Pyroxene minerals
- See also
- References
- External links
thumb|Pyroxene (diopside) crystals from [[Afghanistan]]
The pyroxenes (commonly abbreviated Px) are a group of important rock-forming inosilicate minerals found in many igneous and metamorphic rocks. Pyroxenes have the general formula , where X represents ions of calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), iron (Fe(II)) or magnesium (Mg) and more rarely zinc, manganese or lithium, and Y represents ions of smaller size, such as chromium (Cr), aluminium (Al), magnesium (Mg), cobalt (Co), manganese (Mn), scandium (Sc), titanium (Ti), vanadium (V) or even iron (Fe(II) or Fe(III)). Although aluminium substitutes extensively for silicon in silicates such as feldspars and amphiboles, the substitution occurs only to a limited extent in most pyroxenes. They share a common structure consisting of single chains of silica tetrahedra. Pyroxenes that crystallize in the monoclinic system are known as clinopyroxenes and those that crystallize in the orthorhombic system are known as orthopyroxenes.