2014 is the International Year of Crystallography (IYCr). We have taken this opportunity to design, together with the journal Chemie in Unserer Zeit (ChiuZ), a new quiz. The idea is that you guess the name of a mineral with the help of an image and some tips.
We will publish a different question in each of the following months: April, June, August, October, and December. Everyone who gives the correct answer before the required date will be put into a draw to win a book published by Wiley–VCH. For each question there will be two lucky book winners. In addition, at the end of the year we will draw one winner from among all the correct answers to receive an iPad.
So contribute, it’s worth it!
We thank Ekkehard Diemann, University of Bielefeld, Germany, who has made this quiz possible by providing the beautiful images and the texts accompanying these quiz sections.
For tips on how to take such pictures by yourself, read his article on Digital Photography in Chemistry.
2nd Mineral
Our mineral (pictured above) belongs to the phyllosilicates. It forms monoclinic crystals of space group C2/m. Striking is the (hollow) fibrous structure of the mineral.
Its name goes back to the fact that when light shines through its fibers they look like gold fibers.
It was used in fire protection and for composite reinforced materials, however, for some years it has been banned in the EU.
What is the name of our mineral?
Send your solution indicating your address before July 22, 2014 to [email protected]
To see the answer:
Crysotile (often called white asbestos)
- More on the International Year of Crystallography (IYCr 2014)
- Chrome Diopside; answer to Guess the Mineral (1)
