Beryl

Beryl
Three varieties of beryl (left to right): morganite, aquamarine and emerald
General
CategoryCyclosilicate
Formula
(repeating unit)
Be3Al2Si6O18
IMA symbolBrl[1]
Strunz classification9.CJ.05
Crystal systemHexagonal
Crystal classDihexagonal dipyramidal (6/mmm)
H-M symbol: (6/m 2/m 2/m)
Space groupP6/mcc
Unit cella = 9.21 Å, c = 9.19 Å; Z = 2
Identification
Formula mass537.50 g/mol
ColorGreen, blue, yellow, colorless, pink, and others
Crystal habitPrismatic to tabular crystals; radial, columnar; granular to compact massive
TwinningRare
CleavageImperfect on {0001}
FractureConchoidal to irregular
TenacityBrittle
Mohs scale hardness7.5–8.0
LusterVitreous to resinous
StreakWhite
DiaphaneityTransparent to translucent
Specific gravity2.63–2.92
Optical propertiesUniaxial (−)
Refractive indexnω = 1.564–1.595
nε = 1.568–1.602
Birefringenceδ = 0.0040–0.0070
PleochroismWeak to distinct
Ultraviolet fluorescenceNone (some fracture-filling materials used to improve emerald's clarity do fluoresce, but the stone itself does not). Morganite has weak violet fluorescence.
References[2][3][4][5]: 112

Beryl (/ˈbɛrəl/ BERR-əl) is a mineral composed of beryllium aluminium silicate with the chemical formula Be3Al2Si6O18.[6] Well-known varieties of beryl include emerald and aquamarine. Naturally occurring hexagonal crystals of beryl can be up to several meters in size, but terminated crystals are relatively rare. Pure beryl is colorless, but it is frequently tinted by impurities; possible colors are green, blue, yellow, pink, and red (the rarest). It is an ore source of beryllium.[7]

Main beryl producing countries
  1. ^ Warr, L.N. (2021). "IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols". Mineralogical Magazine. 85 (3): 291–320. Bibcode:2021MinM...85..291W. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43. S2CID 235729616.
  2. ^ "Beryl". mindat.org. Archived from the original on 26 October 2007.
  3. ^ "Beryl Mineral Data". webmineral.org. Archived from the original on 12 May 2008.
  4. ^ "Beryl" (PDF). Mineral Data Publishing. 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 November 2011.
  5. ^ Schumann, Walter (2009). Gemstones of the World. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN 978-1-402-76829-3. Archived from the original on 20 November 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  6. ^ "Beryl". www.minerals.net. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  7. ^ Klein, Cornelis; Dutrow, Barbara; Dana, James Dwight (2007). The Manual of Mineral Science (after James D. Dana) (23rd ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: J. Wiley. ISBN 978-0-471-72157-4. OCLC 76798190.