nepheline
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See also: néphéline
English
Etymology
From Ancient Greek νεφέλη (nephélē, “cloud”), because crystals become cloudy when exposed to acid, + -ine.
Noun
nepheline (countable and uncountable, plural nephelines)
- (mineralogy) A feldspathoid mineral of silica-poor igneous, plutonic and volcanic rocks. Chemically, nepheline is a plagioclase feldspar with insufficient silica to satisfy the chemical bonds. Because of the unfilled bonds, nepheline weathers rapidly and can only be seen as inclusions in freshly broken rock.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
feldspathoid mineral
Further reading
- David Barthelmy (1997–2024) “Nepheline”, in Webmineral Mineralogy Database.
- “nepheline”, in Mindat.org[1], Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, 2000–2024.