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Haidingerite
A valid IMA mineral species - grandfathered
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About Haidingerite
Wilhelm Karl von Haidinger [February 5, 1795 in Vienna, Austria – March 19, 1871 in Dornbach, Austria]
Formula:
CaHAsO4 · H2O
Colour:
Colorless, white; colorless in transmitted light
Lustre:
Sub-Vitreous, Greasy, Silky, Pearly
Hardness:
2 - 2½
Specific Gravity:
2.848
Crystal System:
Orthorhombic
Name:
Named in 1827 by Edward Turner to honour Wilhelm Karl von Haidinger (5 February 1795, Vienna, Austria – 19 March 1871, Dornbach, Austria). Haidinger was a pupil of Friedrich Mohs and translated some of his works. Director of the Haidinger porcelain factory at Elbogen, Austria. Later, he was a councilor of mines in Vienna and director of the Imperial Geological Institute. He was a prolific researcher and author.
Unique Identifiers
Mindat ID:
1797
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:1:1797:4
Similar Names
| Haidingerite (of Berthier) | A synonym of Berthierite |
IMA Classification of Haidingerite
Approved, 'Grandfathered' (first described prior to 1959)
IMA Formula:
Ca(As5+O3OH)·H2O
First published:
1825
Classification of Haidingerite
8.CJ.20
8 : PHOSPHATES, ARSENATES, VANADATES
C : Phosphates without additional anions, with H2O
J : With only large cations
8 : PHOSPHATES, ARSENATES, VANADATES
C : Phosphates without additional anions, with H2O
J : With only large cations
39.1.5.1
39 : HYDRATED ACID PHOSPHATES,ARSENATES AND VANADATES
1 : A[HXO4]·xH2O
39 : HYDRATED ACID PHOSPHATES,ARSENATES AND VANADATES
1 : A[HXO4]·xH2O
20.2.7
20 : Arsenates (also arsenates with phosphate, but without other anions)
2 : Arsenates of Be, Mg, Ca or Ba
20 : Arsenates (also arsenates with phosphate, but without other anions)
2 : Arsenates of Be, Mg, Ca or Ba
Mineral Symbols
As of 2021 there are now IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols (abbreviations) for each mineral species, useful for tables and diagrams.
| Symbol | Source | Reference for Standard |
|---|---|---|
| Hdi | IMA–CNMNC | Warr, L.N. (2021). IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols. Mineralogical Magazine, 85(3), 291-320. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43 |
Physical Properties of Haidingerite
Sub-Vitreous, Greasy, Silky, Pearly
Transparency:
Transparent, Translucent
Comment:
Lustre pearly on cleavage.
Colour:
Colorless, white; colorless in transmitted light
Streak:
White
Hardness:
2 - 2½ on Mohs scale
Tenacity:
Sectile
Cleavage:
Perfect
On {010}, perfect.
On {010}, perfect.
Density:
2.848 g/cm3 (Measured) 2.971 g/cm3 (Calculated)
Comment:
2.962 ± 0.008 (artificial material).
Optical Data of Haidingerite
Type:
Biaxial (+)
RI values:
nα = 1.590 nβ = 1.602 nγ = 1.638
2V:
Measured: 58° , Calculated: 62°
Birefringence:
0.048
Max. Birefringence:
δ = 0.048
Based on recorded range of RI values above.
Based on recorded range of RI values above.
Interference Colours:
The colours simulate birefringence patterns seen in thin section under crossed polars. They do not take into account mineral colouration or opacity.
Michel-Levy Bar The default colours simulate the birefringence range for a 30 µm thin-section thickness. Adjust the slider to simulate a different thickness.
Grain Simulation You can rotate the grain simulation to show how this range might look as you rotated a sample under crossed polars. Each grain retains its interference colour (retardation) while its brightness falls to black at extinction and reaches a maximum between extinction positions.
The colours simulate birefringence patterns seen in thin section under crossed polars. They do not take into account mineral colouration or opacity.
Michel-Levy Bar The default colours simulate the birefringence range for a 30 µm thin-section thickness. Adjust the slider to simulate a different thickness.
Grain Simulation You can rotate the grain simulation to show how this range might look as you rotated a sample under crossed polars. Each grain retains its interference colour (retardation) while its brightness falls to black at extinction and reaches a maximum between extinction positions.
Surface Relief:
High (positive)
Relative to Canada balsam mounting medium (n ≈ 1.537).
Relative to Canada balsam mounting medium (n ≈ 1.537).
This shows the grain boundary and Becke line effect under plane-polarised
light, based on the contrast between this mineral's average refractive
index and the mounting medium. It does not take into account mineral
colouration.
In focus
Interference Figure:
This shows the idealized biaxial acute bisectrix (Bxa) interference figure
- the conoscopic view for a grain cut perpendicular to the acute bisectrix, using
this mineral's 2V. The two small white dots mark the melatopes - the points
where the two optic axes emerge - and are shown only when they fall within the
field of view. The coloured bands are isochromatics, and the dark bands are
isogyres.
Rotate the stage: at 0°/90° the isogyres form a cross through the melatopes; at 45° they pull apart into curved hyperbolas. That splitting on rotation - absent in a uniaxial figure - is the standard diagnostic test for telling biaxial minerals from uniaxial ones. If 2V is large, the melatopes may fall outside the field of view, as they often do at the microscope too.
Rotate the stage: at 0°/90° the isogyres form a cross through the melatopes; at 45° they pull apart into curved hyperbolas. That splitting on rotation - absent in a uniaxial figure - is the standard diagnostic test for telling biaxial minerals from uniaxial ones. If 2V is large, the melatopes may fall outside the field of view, as they often do at the microscope too.
Dispersion:
r > v distinct
Optical Extinction:
parallel
Pleochroism:
Non-pleochroic
Jáchymov, Karlovy Vary District, Karlovy Vary Region, Czech Republic