1. Minerals
April 30, 2023admin
Minerals are those substances found in meals and in the ground that our
bodies require for healthy growth and development. Calcium, phosphorus,
potassium, sodium, chloride, magnesium, iron, zinc, iodine, chromium,
copper, fluoride, molybdenum, manganese, and selenium are among the
nutrients that are crucial for good health.
Typically created by inorganic processes, a mineral is a naturally occurring
homogeneous solid with a specific chemical composition and a highly ordered
atomic arrangement. About 100 of the known mineral species—the so-called
rock-forming minerals—make up the majority of the known mineral species,
which number in the thousands.
Explainnation
A mineral is different from its laboratory-produced synthetic counterparts since
it must by definition form through natural processes. In industrial and research
facilities, artificial versions of minerals, such as emeralds, sapphires,
diamonds, and other priceless gemstones, are frequently created and
frequently resemble their natural counterparts.
A mineral is defined as a homogeneous solid, which means that it is made up
of a single solid substance with a homogenous composition that cannot be
physically divided into chemical compounds with a simpler structure. The
scale on which homogeneity is defined determines how homogeneous
something is. For instance, a specimen that seems homogeneous to the
unassisted eye may disclose many mineral components when examined

2. under a microscope or when subjected to X-ray diffraction methods. A mineral
can be described by a precise chemical formula since it has a known
composition. Because silicon (Si) and oxygen (O), the only two elements that
make up quartz (silicon dioxide), always occur in a 1:2 ratio, their chemical
formula is SiO2. Quartz is a pure substance, and most minerals do not have
as clearly defined chemical compositions as quartz does. For instance,
siderite occasionally contains magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), and, to a
lesser amount, calcium (Ca), in addition to pure iron carbonate (FeCO3). The
ratio of the metal cation to the anionic group is stable in siderite, but the
amount of the replacement can change, therefore the composition is not fixed
and ranges between specific limitations.
Minerals exhibit a highly organised, geometrically consistent interior atomic
structure. Minerals are referred to as crystalline solids as a result of this
characteristic. When conditions are right, crystalline materials can reveal their
well-developed outward form, also known as the crystal form or morphology,
which expresses their structured internal framework. Amorphous solids are
defined as having no such organised interior organisation. Mineraloids are a
broad category that includes many amorphous natural solids like glass.
Although current mineralogic practise frequently refers to compounds that are
produced organically but meet all other requirements for minerals as minerals,
minerals have historically been thought to only result from inorganic
processes.
Nomenclature
While minerals are logically categorised into groups like oxides, silicates, and
nitrates based on their main anionic (negatively charged) chemical
components, their naming is much less systematic or consistent. Names can
be given to things based on their physical or chemical characteristics, such
colour, or they can be drawn from other things that are judged acceptable, like
a place, famous person, or mineralogist. Here are some examples of mineral
names and where they came from: Goethite (FeO OH) was named in memory
of German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; albite (NaAlSi3O8) takes its
name from the Latin word (albus) meaning “white” in reference to its colour;
manganite (MnO OH) reflects the mineral’s composition; Franklin, New
Jersey, the U.S., is the source of the mineral franklinite (ZnFe2O4).
Occurrence and formation
All geologic environments and a wide range of chemical and physical
variables, including changes in temperature and pressure, are present when

3. minerals develop. The four main types of mineral formation are: (1) igneous,
or magmatic, in which minerals crystallise from a melt; (2) sedimentary, in
which minerals are produced as a byproduct of a process called
sedimentation, which uses rock fragments from other rocks that have
undergone weathering or erosion as its raw materials; and (3) metamorphic, in
which new minerals replace older ones as a result of the effects of changing—
usually increasing—temperature, pressure, or both on some existing rock
type. The first three stages often produce a variety of rocks with various
mineral compositions.
The Nature of Minerals
Morphology
The internal ordered arrangement of atoms and ions that distinguishes
crystalline solids from other solids is present in almost all minerals. Minerals
may develop as well-formed crystals with regular geometric shapes and
smooth flat surfaces under the right circumstances. The mostly accidental
development of this desirable outward form has little bearing on a crystal’s
fundamental qualities. As a result, material scientists most frequently refer to
any solid having an ordered internal structure as a crystal, regardless of
whether it has exterior faces or not.
Symmetry Elements
A crystal’s morphology, also known as its outward shape, is what gives it its
aesthetic appeal, while its geometry reveals the interior arrangement of its
atoms. A number of symmetry elements can be expressed by the exterior
shape of well-formed crystals. These symmetry components include mirror
planes, rotation axes, rotoinversion axes, and a centre of symmetry.
Symmetry of elements
A crystal may be spun along an imaginary line called a rotation axis, and
throughout a full rotation, it can appear one, two, three, four, or six times. (A
sixfold rotation, for instance, happens when the crystal repeats itself every
60°, or six times in a 360° revolution.)
Rotation about an axis of rotation and inversion are combined on a
rotoinversion axis. Rotoinversion axes are denoted by the numerals 1, 2, 3, 4,
and 6, where 1 represents a centre of symmetry (or inversion), 2 a mirror
plane, and 3 a triple rotation axis combined with a centre of symmetry. Four
has two top faces and two similar faces beneath that are reversed when the
crystal’s axis is vertical. 6 is comparable to a mirror plane perpendicular to a
triple rotation axis. A crystal has a centre of symmetry if an imaginary line can

4. be drawn through the centre from any point on its surface and there is another
point along the line that is equally spaced from the centre. This is the same as
1, also known as inversion. An effective method exists for identifying the
centre of symmetry in a well-formed crystal. The presence of an identically
shaped, inverted face at the top of the crystal when it is placed on any face of
a tabletop establishes the existence of a centre of symmetry. A crystal can
alternatively be divided into two halves using an imagined mirror plane (also
known as a symmetry plane).
If an imaginary line can be drawn through any point on a crystal’s surface and
terminate at its centre, the crystal has a centre of symmetry, and there is also
a point along the line that is equally spaced from the centre. This corresponds
to 1, or inversion. A well-formed crystal’s centre of symmetry may be found via
a rather straightforward process. When the crystal is placed on any face of a
tabletop, the presence of an identically shaped, horizontally inverted face at
the top of the crystal establishes the existence of a centre of symmetry.
Another method for cutting a crystal in half is to utilise an imagined mirror
plane (also known as a symmetry plane).
Twinning
Twining is the regular intergrowth of two or more crystal grains so that each
grain is either a mirror copy of its neighbour or is rotated relative to it in
crystallography. Other grains added to the twin create crystals that frequently
have symmetrical joints and are occasionally shaped like stars or crosses.
From the very beginning of crystal growth, twinning frequently happens.
Although the atomic structures of the individuals that make up a twin have
different orientations, they must share some common planes or directions.
They must be easy to combine and derivable from one another by a
straightforward motion.
Internal Structure
Examining Crystal Structures

5. The underlying internal architecture of a crystalline material, or its crystal
structure, is expressed in a mineral’s outward morphology. The three-
dimensional regular (or ordered) arrangement of chemical units (atoms, ions,
and anionic groups in inorganic materials; molecules in organic substances)
that makes up a crystal structure are repeated in different ways by
translational and symmetry operations and are referred to as motifs.
Space Groups
Crystals’ internal atomic structure has the same symmetry components that
can be seen in their outward morphology, such as rotation and rotoinversion
axes, mirror planes, and a centre of symmetry. There are translations and
symmetry operations that combine translations and these symmetry
components. A motif is translated when it is repeated in a linear pattern at
intervals equal to the translation distance, which is often on the 1 to 10 level.
Screw axis, which combine rotation and translation, and glide planes, which
combine mirroring and translation, are two instances of translational symmetry
components. Since the internal translation distances are so minute, only
extremely high-magnification electron beam techniques, such as those used
in a transmission electron microscope, can directly observe them.
Illustrating crystal structures
On a two-dimensional paper or within a computer simulation, the exterior
morphology of a three-dimensional collection of crystal formations may be
shown. The crystal structure can also be projected onto a flat surface for
demonstration. This may be a representation of the high-temperature form of

6. silicon dioxide (SiO2) called tridymite; however, the structural motif units in
this instance are SiO4 tetrahedrons, which are made up of a silicon atom
surrounded by four oxygen atoms. Three-dimensional physical replicas of
such formations may be created or bought commercially, which can help
visualise complicated crystal structures in the real world. These models scale
up the interior atomic organisation by a huge amount (one centimetre may
represent one angstrom, for example).
Polymorphism
In crystallography, polymorphism is the phenomenon in which a solid
chemical compound exists in more than one crystalline form; the forms have
similar solutions and vapours but have somewhat different physical and,
occasionally, chemical characteristics. It has been suggested that the term
“allotropy” should only refer to different molecular forms of an element, such
as oxygen (O2) and ozone (O3), and that the term “polymorphism” should
instead refer to various crystalline forms of the same species, whether a
compound or an element. German scientist Eilhardt Mitscherlich found
variations in the crystalline structures of numerous elements and compounds
in the 1820s.
The conditions under which synthetic crystalline substances are prepared
frequently determine which polymorph will form; special care must be taken
when producing pigments because the colour, reflectivity, and opacity of the
various polymorphic modifications of a single substance frequently vary.
Polycrystal
Any solid object made up of crystallites, which are arbitrarily aligned
crystalline areas, is referred to as a polycrystal (q.v.). When a substance
solidifies quickly, it forms polycrystalline materials because the structurally
ordered regions that grow from each nucleation site intersect with one
another. Even colourless polycrystals are opaque because of the variable
configuration of the borders between individual crystallites, which scatter light
instead of reflecting or diffracting it evenly. The absence of long-range order in
polycrystals also affects other mechanical, electrical, or magnetic
characteristics of single crystals.
Diadochy
Diadochy: When one atom or ion (charged atom) can take the place of
another in a specific crystal lattice. The degree of replacement is determined
by the temperature of equilibration, the accessibility of the replacing ion, as
well as the ion’s radius, charge, and electronic structure in relation to its

7. diadochic partner. The replaceability can be either total or partial. For
instance, the magnesium ion may completely be replaced by an iron ion in
olivine structures.
Crystallite
Any form of small body known as a crystallite is found in glassy igneous rocks
like obsidian and pitchstone. Although they frequently lack any discernible
crystallographic form and are too small to polarise light, crystallites are
considered to be incipient or embryonic crystals. They develop when molten
rock material, or magma, congeals so quickly that crystallisation is not
completed. Microlites, which are somewhat bigger forms that may be
identified as certain mineral species, are distinguished from crystallites.
Crystallites come in many different types, and names have been given to
them to denote their distinct shapes. For instance, scopulites might be
feathery or flower-like while globulites are often round or spherical. A
crystallite’s faster-growing faces get smaller, making the slower-growing faces
longer. Bacillites are rod-shaped crystallites made up of several smaller
elongate forms. Longulites (elongated), spiculites (tapered towards both
ends), and clavalites (dumbbell-shaped) are examples of belonites, which are
elongated with pointy or rounded ends.
Basic Source of Minerals
Foods including cereals, bread, meat, fish, dairy products, nuts, dried fruit,
and vegetables all contain minerals. Some minerals are more important to us
than others. In comparison to iron, zinc, iodine, selenium, and copper, for
instance, we require greater amounts of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium,
sodium, potassium, and chloride.
Minerals in food
Calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, chloride, magnesium, iron, zinc,
iodine, chromium, copper, fluoride, molybdenum, manganese, and selenium
are among the nutrients that are crucial for good health.
Minerals include calcium and iron amongst many others and are found
in:
 meat.
 cereals.
 fish.
 milk and dairy foods.
 fruit and vegetables.

8.  nuts.
Importance of Minerals
Minerals are necessary building blocks for our daily lives and are fundamental
to the advancement of economic, social, and technological systems. For
instance, consider the following: Agriculture: Other mineral products are also
used to improve soil, including phosphate rock, potash, and lime.
Deficiency of Most Common Mineral
More than 25% of individuals globally suffer from iron insufficiency, one of the
most prevalent nutritional deficits (1, 2). The percentage increases to 47% for
preschoolers.
Mineral deficiency can lead to disease such as anemia and goitre.
Symptoms of mineral nutrients
6 Signs of Nutrient Deficiency

9.  Severe hair loss. …
 Burning sensation in the feet or tongue. …
 Wounds are slow to heal. …
 Bone pain. …
 Irregular heartbeat. …
 Your night vision deteriorates.
Reference
 https://medlineplus.gov/definitions/mineralsdefinitions.html#:~:text=Minerals%20a
re%20those%20elements%20on,molybdenum%2C%20manganese%2C%20and
%20selenium.
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral