Nitrocalcite Mineral Data

General Nitrocalcite Information

Chemical Formula:

Ca(NO3)2•4(H2O)

Composition:

Molecular Weight = 236.15 gm

Calcium 16.97 % Ca 23.75 % CaO

Hydrogen 3.41 % H 30.52 % H₂O

Nitrogen 11.86 % N 45.74 % N₂O₅

Oxygen 67.75 % O

______ ______

100.00 % 100.00 % = TOTAL OXIDE

Empirical Formula:

Ca(NO₃)₂•4(H₂O)

Environment:

Formed in caves and on alkaline soils.

IMA Status:

Valid Species (Pre-IMA) 1835

Locality:

Pulo di Molfetta caves, Apulia, Italy. Link to MinDat.org Location Data.

Name Origin:

Named for NITROgen and CALCium in the composition.

Name Pronunciation:

Nitrocalcite + Pronunciation

Synonym:

ICSD 970

PDF 26-1406

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Nitrocalcite Crystallography

Axial Ratios:

a:b:c =1.5804:1:0.6861

Cell Dimensions:

a = 14.477, b = 9.16, c = 6.285, Z = 4; beta = 98.42° V = 824.47 Den(Calc)= 1.90

Crystal System:

Monoclinic - PrismaticH-M Symbol (2/m) Space Group: P 2₁/n

$Help on X Ray Diffraction:$ X Ray Diffraction:

By Intensity(I/I_o): 5.14(1), 3.58(0.7), 7.72(0.7),

Crystal Structure:

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Leclaire A , Monier J C , Acta Crystallographica, Section B , 33 (1977) p.1861-1866, Liaisons hydrogene dans les cristaux de Ca(NO3)2*4H2Oalpha, Locality: synthetic

Physical Properties of Nitrocalcite

Cleavage:

{???} Perfect

Color:

Gray, Gray white, White.

Density:

1.9

Diaphaneity:

Transparent

Habit:

Massive - Uniformly indistinguishable crystals forming large masses.

Hardness:

1-2 - Between Talc and Gypsum

Luminescence:

Non-fluorescent.

Luster:

Vitreous (Glassy)

Magnetism:

Nonmagnetic

Streak:

white

Optical Properties of Nitrocalcite

Gladstone-Dale:

CI meas= 0.026 (Excellent) - where the CI = (1-KPDmeas/KC)
CI calc= 0.026 (Excellent) - where the CI = (1-KPDcalc/KC)
KPDcalc= 0.2574,KPDmeas= 0.2574,KC= 0.2643
Ncalc = 1.5

Optical Data:

Biaxial (-), a=1.465, b=1.498, g=1.504, bire=0.0390

Calculated Properties of Nitrocalcite

Electron Density:

Bulk Density (Electron Density)=1.96 gm/cc
note: Specific Gravity of Nitrocalcite =1.90 gm/cc.

Fermion Index:

Fermion Index = 0.11
Boson Index = 0.89

Photoelectric:

PE_Nitrocalcite= 2.30 barns/electron
U=PE_Nitrocalcite x rElectron Density= 4.52 barns/cc.

Radioactivity:

GRapi = 0 (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units)
Nitrocalcite is Not Radioactive

Nitrocalcite Classification

Dana Class:

18.02.02.01 (18)Simple Nitrates

(18.02)where A (NO3)2 · x(H2O), x can equal zero

(18.02.02)Dana Group

18.02.02.01 Nitrocalcite Ca(NO3)2•4(H2O) P 2₁/n 2/m

Strunz Class:

05.NC.10 05 - CARBONATES (NITRATES)

05.N - NITRATES

05.NC -With H2O

05.NC.10 Nitrocalcite Ca(NO3)2•4(H2O) P 2₁/n 2/m

Other Nitrocalcite Information

References:

NAME( AntBidBlaNic3) PHYS. PROP.(Enc. of Minerals,2nd ed.,1990) OPTIC PROP.(Enc. of Minerals,2nd ed.,1990)

See Also:

Links to other databases for Nitrocalcite :
1 - Am. Min. Crystal Structure Database
2 - Athena
3 - EUROmin Project
4 - Ecole des Mines de Paris
5 - GeoScienceWorld
6 - Google Images
7 - Google Scholar
8 - Handbook of Mineralogy (MinSocAm)
9 - Handbook of Mineralogy (UofA)
10 - MinDAT
11 - Mineralienatlas (Deutsch)
12 - Online Mineral Museum
13 - QUT Mineral Atlas
14 - Ruff.Info

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Print or Cut-and-Paste your Nitrocalcite Specimen Label here :

Nitrocalcite

Ca(NO3)2•4(H2O)
Dana No: 18.02.02.01 Strunz No: 05.NC.10
Locality:

Notes: