Dolomite

Dolomite, the mineral for week #18 of the 52-week tour of the geometry of nature is usually found in clusters of small rhombohedral crystals – parallelepiped where all edges are the same length – with a somewhat “saddle”-like shape. It has a white to tan to pink color. It is part of the trigonal system.
Dolomite is not often encountered as a gem material, and it is generally known as an inclusion in gems such as emerald, garnet, quartz, and ruby. A major source of magnesium, it is used for pharmaceutical applications or by agriculture to enrich the soil.

Posted on by Jean Constant

05-06. Dolomite #7.

From a Drits, McCarty, Sakharov and Milliken resource: dolomite from Lea County, New Mexico.

How strange it is – I spent 2 days trying to find a color scheme that could fit the design and/or make it more dynamic. This morning, I checked the origin of the mineral: Lea County New Mexico – a tiny piece of desert land and dust lost in the middle of the South East part of the State,  just next to Texas.

Last January, Exxon just spent $ 5.6 billions on drilling rights in that County. Not a great cause to celebrate I guess – if you’re a mineral! No wonder I couldn’t find any cheerful color in this dolomite. The coincidence is so bizarre, I felt like a real photograph from the Albuquerque journal is the least I could do to go along with this post.

05-06

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05-05

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05-05. Dolomite #6.

Same dolomite structure than yesterday – different perspective.

A very busy arrangement, indeed. I wonder what this panel would look like if I was replacing each sphere by a set of LED light bulbs of a different color and blinking at a different interval? Beyond the scope of this project for now, but intriguing challenge all the same!

05-05

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05-03. Dolomite #4.

Industrial size dolomite close-up – or maybe a mechanical work “a la Fernand Leger”? The dolomite unit cell has a sturdy structure that would work well for a skyscraper.

From a resource by Reeder and Markgraf: high-temperature crystal chemistry of dolomite.

05-03

05-01

Posted on by Jean Constant

05-01. Dolomite #2.

From a resource by Reeder and Wenk. The file title says – “structure refinements of some thermally disordered dolomites” I think they did a splendid job. This polyhedra triangle flight formation looks ready to take off!

05-01

04-30

Posted on by Jean Constant

04-30. Dolomite #1.

A strange flower coming down from the Italian Alps? Not quite – the mineral dolomite is named after Frenchman and mineralogist Deodat de Dolomieu in the mid-1700s.

Dolomite is the mineral for week #18 of the 52-week tour of the geometry of Nature. It is usually found in clusters of small rhombohedral crystals – small parallelepiped where all edges are the same length – and has a somewhat “saddle”-like shape. Its color varies from white to tan to pink. It’s part of the trigonal system family.

Dolomite is not often encountered as a gem. It is generally known as an inclusion in emerald, garnet, quartz, and ruby. A fascinating article by Luo, Yang and Shen describes its possible association with nephrite and how it was used in ancient Chinese culture. A major source of magnesium, it is found today in pharmaceutical applications and agricultural products.

From a resource by Steinfink & Sans: refinement of the crystal structure of dolomite.

04-30