The Mineral Indicator: A Practical Guide to the Determination of Generally Occurring Minerals (Classic Reprint) - Hardcover

E. J. Chapman

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0484554298 ISBN 13: 9780484554299

Publisher: Forgotten Books, 2018

Synopsis

Identify minerals with practical blowpipe tests and simple observations you can trust.

This edition presents practical, hands-on methods for recognizing common minerals through straightforward tests. Learn how to read pale clues from colour, cleavage, and how minerals behave when heated, dissolved, or exposed to flame. The guide emphasizes quick, repeatable steps you can perform with basic equipment.

• Use fusibility and edge behavior to tell among feldspars like orthoclase, albite, and microcline, and note how thin splinters fuse while thicker pieces may seem infusible.
• Distinguish mica group minerals such as muscovite, phlogopite, and biotite by their luster, splitting into elastic leaves, and acid reaction differences.
• Identify common sulphates and chlorides by flame color changes, water loss on ignition, and solubility patterns in sodium carbonate or water.
• Recognize carbonates, silicates, and oxides through observed reactions in bulb-tube tests and simple char-coal tests, with emphasis on safe handling.

Ideal for readers who want a practical, test-based approach to mineral identification in field or lab settings.

Edition details

• Publisher: Forgotten Books
• Publication date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0484554298
• ISBN 13: 9780484554299
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 130