Apatite

- align=center bgcolor="#9966FF"	Apatite		- align=center	- align=center bgcolor="#9966FF"	General		-	Category	Mineral	-	Chemical formula	Ca₅(PO₄)₃(F,Cl,OH)	- align="center" bgcolor="#9966FF"	Identification		-	Color	Usually green, less often colorless, yellow, blue to violet.	-	Crystal habit	Tabular, prismatic crystals, massive, compact or granular.	-	Crystal system	Hexagonal	-	Cleavage	Poor	-	Fracture	Conchoidal to even	-	Mohs Scale hardness	5	-	Luster	Vitreous to subresinous	-	Refractive index	1.632-1.646. Biref .002-.004	-	Pleochroism	None	-	Streak	White	-	Specific gravity	3.17-3.23	- align="center" bgcolor="#9966FF"	Major varieties		-	None		-

Apatite is a group of phosphate minerals, usually referring to hydroxylapatite, fluorapatite, and chlorapatite, named for high concentrations of OH^-, F^-, or Cl^- ions, respectively, in the crystal. The formula of the admixture of the three most common species is written as Ca₅(PO₄)₃(OH, F, Cl).

Apatite is one of few minerals that are produced and used by biological systems. Hydroxylapatite is the major component of tooth enamel, and a large component of bone material. Fluorapatite is slightly stronger than hydroxyapatite; thus, fluoridated water, which will allow exchange in the teeth of hydroxyl ions for fluoride ions, slightly strengthens the teeth.

Fission tracks in apatite are commonly used to determine the thermal history of orogenic (mountain) belts and of sediments in sedimentary basins.

Phosphorite is the name given to impure, massive apatite.

External links

Apatite on Mineral galleries

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External links

See also