Minerals are inorganic solids formed naturally, from their own chemical composition and crystal structure, that occur naturally. Most commonly associated with gems and metals, but many everyday objects such as highways, buildings, salt, magazines food supplements and vitamins also contain minerals.
For any substance to qualify as a mineral, certain criteria established by the International Mineralogical Association must be fulfilled. These regulations include:
Physical Properties
Minerals exhibit various physical characteristics that aid in their identification. These depend on their chemical makeup and crystal structure; examples of physical traits are hardness, color luster streak cleavage density or specific gravity.
Specific gravity refers to a mineral’s weight compared to an equal volume of water; this feature allows us to differentiate minerals with similar densities. For instance, gold has an especially high specific gravity while quartz tends to have quite low specific gravities.
Other physical properties used to identify minerals include magnetism (hematite is magnetic), taste (halite has a salty taste), and double refraction – the ability of minerals to split light rays into multiple beams of light.
Certain minerals also exhibit a unique physical property called “twinning,” whereby they contain one or more twinned crystals within them that have different physical properties than their original single crystal counterpart. Twinning typically occurs when one mineral contains several twinned crystals within itself that form tetrahedra or cuboids with unique physical characteristics than their single-crystal counterpart.
Chemical Properties
Minerals can have various chemical properties depending on their composition; impurities in some minerals may alter color.
Cleavage, fracture, and parting all describe how mineral crystals break, offering valuable insight into their atomic arrangement. Minerals with cleavage exhibit planes of weakness in their crystal structures which produce planar surfaces oriented in particular ways; we often refer to these planes using geometric terms like cubic, octahedral, rhombohedral or prismatic.
Some minerals display an array of hues, reflecting or absorbing various wavelengths of light depending on their mineral makeup – examples such as micas and talc.
Some minerals, like gypsum and talc, can be easily cut with a knife, while others such as quartz and halite may break easily under pressure. Other materials, like clays and some micas are elastic; their shape returns back when pressure is released; while some such as chalcocite and bornite have even proven ductile.
Origin
Minerals may consist of one element, like argon gas, or be composed of multiple elements in fixed proportions, like quartz (SiO2). Their chemical makeup changes with temperature, pressure and time; this process is known as metamorphism and affects how their mineral assemblages are distributed throughout soil layers.
The International Mineralogical Association (IMA) defines minerals as substances composed of naturally crystalline matter with distinct chemical composition and ordered atomic structure, created either through human activity (anthropogenic) or living beings ( biogenic), such as tungsten carbide, urinary calculi or taranakite derived from bat guano.
Many minerals remain unknown to science; those which have been identified tend to be named after either where or who studied them initially.
Uses
Minerals can be found in everyday products like glass, ceramics and metals found in buildings and cars. Furthermore, minerals make up part of our energy source – fossil fuels require metals while renewable technologies like wind turbines or solar panels rely on silicon and silver.
Minerals play an integral role in human nutrition, with many having specific biological functions like calcium for strong bones and teeth, iron for transporting oxygen through the body and zinc providing immune support. While most individuals can get sufficient levels of these essential vitamins through eating healthily, those at risk of mineral deficiency should consult with medical professionals about possible supplement options.
The United States Department of Defense uses minerals for national security, including chromium for producing steel armor plates designed to withstand gunshots and explosions as well as beryllium used to detect improvised explosive devices. Stockpiled minerals also help ensure national emergencies such as shortages of petroleum or disruptions of seaports are resolved swiftly.
