Mineral Names Research Articles

Who’s Who in Mineral Names: Robert Terrance Downs (b. 1955)

Who’s Who in Mineral Names: Robert Terrance Downs (b. 1955)

The Where of Mineral Names: Greenlizardite, Green Lizard Mine, Low Canyon, White Canyon Uranium District, San Juan County, Utah

The Where of Mineral Names: Greenlizardite, Green Lizard Mine, Low Canyon, White Canyon Uranium District, San Juan County, Utah

Who’s Who in Mineral Names: John A. Jaszczak (b. 1961)

Who’s Who in Mineral Names: John A. Jaszczak (b. 1961)

Gender in Mineral Names

Gender in Mineral Names

The Where of Mineral Names: Mendipite, The Mendip Hills, Somerset, South-West England

The Where of Mineral Names: Mendipite, The Mendip Hills, Somerset, South-West England

Interpreting materia medica. A case study on Ioannes Archiatrus

Background Premodern medical texts are an invaluable source for scholars from humanities and sciences. However, they are usually not accessible as few scientists with an interest in premodern materia medica are also qualified philologists. Therefore, a balance has to be struck to translate these texts while preserving information on how reliable we believe a given translation to be. In this paper, we conduct a case study on the vernacular version of Ioannes archiatrus. Methods The present study forms part of the output of a multidisciplinary Wellcome Trust Collaborative Award combining humanities and sciences. We deployed a multi-layer tagging system to systematise pharmaceutical terminology and to translate these terms while providing confidence factors for individual words. In a second step, we used AntConc, a freeware concordance software, to analyse our primary source and visualise patterns in the text. Results Our methodology created a readable text that made it possible for the reader to check confidence factors. It also allows our translation and tagging to be recycled for further research. Conclusions Our methods provide a tool that allows to balance the need to translate and the necessary caution about translated plant and mineral names. Our approach is transferable and it can be modified to suit the needs of other primary sources.

SEMANTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TERMS USED IN ALISHER NAVOY'S EPIC "LAYLI AND MAJNUN"

In the epic "Layli and Majnun", which is the third epic of the great writer Alisher Navoi's "Khamsa", terms related to various sciences and professions of his time were used. In particular, terms related to the social, political, military, animal and plant world, related to the science of astrology (astronomy), meaning medical, musical, mineral names, related to various sciences and professions, related to religious concepts, to Terms related to 'y and mourning rites and several terms related to many other fields are skillfully used in the work.In this article, we will discuss the semantic features of the terms used in this epic. The lexical-semantic phenomena appearing in the current Uzbek terminology and the semantic features characteristic of language units in general have been studied with the help of distributive and transformational analysis methods.

New Mineral Names

Abstract This issue of New Mineral Names provides a summary of the newly described minerals from 2023 and selected information for recent descriptions from October to December of 2023. New mineral name trends and observations are presented using an objective, data-driven, and curated examination of new mineral species and their broader implications.

Louisfuchsite, Ca2(Mg4Ti2)(Al4Si2)O20, a new rhönite-type mineral from the NWA 4964 CK meteorite: A refractory phase from the solar nebula

Abstract Louisfuchsite (IMA 2022-024), with an end-member formula Ca2(Mg4Ti2)(Al4Si2)O20, is a new refractory mineral identified in a Ca-Al-rich inclusion (CAI) from the NWA 4964 CK3.8 carbonaceous chondrite. Louisfuchsite occurs with spinel, perovskite, grossmanite, plus secondary rutile, titanite, and ilmenite in three regions in the CAI. The mean chemical composition of type louisfuchsite by electron probe microanalysis is (wt%) Al2O3 25.48, SiO2 18.40, MgO 17.92, TiO2 15.36, Ti2O3 3.13, CaO 14.92, FeO 3.30, V2O3 0.67, Cr2O3 0.08, total 99.26, giving rise to an empirical formula of Ca2.00(Mg3.44Ti4+1.49Fe0.36Ti3+0.34Al0.24V3+0.07Ca0.06Cr0.01)⅀6.01(Al3.63Si2.37)⅀6.00O20. Louisfuchsite has the P1 rhönite structure with a = 10.37(1) Å, b = 10.76(1) Å, c = 8.90(1) Å, α = 106.0(1)°, β = 96.0(1)°, γ = 124.7(1)°, V = 741(2) Å3, and Z = 2, as revealed by electron back-scatter diffraction. The calculated density using the measured composition is 3.44 g/cm3. Louisfuchsite is a new refractory phase from the solar nebula, crystallized from an 16O-rich (Δ17O ~ −24±2‰) refractory melt with the initial 26Al/27Al ratio of (5.01±0.24)×10−5 under reduced conditions. The mineral name is in honor of Louis Fuchs (1915–1991), a mineralogist at Argonne National Laboratory, for his many contributions to research on mineralogy of meteorites.

Testibiopalladite, PdSbTe: A Valid Mineral and Sb-Analogue of Michenerite

Abstract Testibiopalladite was reported from two unnamed deposits in China by Anonymous (1974) to be ideally PdSbTe. The description of the mineral included an indexed X-ray powder diffraction pattern, space group determination, electron probe micro-analyses, reflectance, and micro-indentation hardness measurements. This description was published without prior submission to the IMA, which was the norm at the time before China became a member. It is unknown as to why the Commission for New Minerals and Mineral Names (CMNMN) did not examine and vote on the mineral as had been done for all other Chinese mineral descriptions published at the time. It is surprising because the chairman of the CMNMN at the time had reviewed the mineral (Fleischer et al. 1976) and concluded it was a valid species, i.e., the Sb analogue of michenerite (PdBiTe). Further, the same article included a description of “hexastibiopanickelite” which was voted on and rejected by the CMNMN in 1976. From 1981 to 2021 there were many papers published reporting testibiopalladite from several deposits in different countries (e.g., Hudson et al. 1978, Chen et al., 1993, Stepanets et al. 2019, 2020), as well as a single-crystal structure analysis of synthetic PdSbTe which confirmed the assigned space group (Foecker & Jeitschko 2001). The published data (e.g., Barkov et al. 2002, Liang et al. 2019, 2023) suggest that testibiopalladite is a valid mineral species, ideally PdSbTe, and is the Sb analogue of michenerite, PdBiTe, both crystallizing in space group P213. Both the name testibiopalladite and the mineral, ideally PdSbTe, were approved by the Commission of New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification of the International Mineralogical Association (CNMNC-IMA), Nomenclature Voting Proposal 23-H. Liang et al. (2019, 2023) studied samples from the type locality (Yangliuping deposit, PRC) that are to be considered as a neotype.

Czech proper names of persons connected with Czech environment in mineral names

Czech proper names of persons connected with Czech environment in mineral names

Deanthroponymic Names of Ural Minerals: Word-Formation Patterns

The study investigates the nomenclature of Ural minerals derived from anthroponyms. The data was sourced from printed and electronic publications on geology and mineralogy. The aim of the research is to analyze the primary word-formation patterns evident in the lexemes of the compiled corpus, discern deviations from traditional word-formation patterns, and ascertain their underlying causes. The deanthroponymic model emerges as the predominant one for mineral nomenclature, constituting 38% of the total number of names analyzed. The second most prevalent model is based on toponyms (22%). Models wherein mineral names are derived from indications of their geochemical composition or properties exhibit significantly lower frequency compared to the two aforementioned models. The most prevalent method of forming deanthroponymic mineral names (mineralonyms) entails incorporating the surname of a notable figure associated with mineralogy, followed by the addition of the formant -it (less frequently, -lit) or -in. Departures from this model manifest in two ways. Firstly, atypical formants such as -an, -zit, -oit, and -anit are utilized, which may be categorized as phonetic-graphic variants or instances of contamination of productive formants. Secondly, deviations occur in the base of the mineralonym, whereby the generating unit is not solely the surname but rather its constituent parts (in cases where the surname is multi-component), as well as the inclusion of the first name, first name and surname, or the root part of the surname translated into Latin. It can be posited that in the use of formally atypical models and approaches to mineralonym creation, the subjective aesthetic considerations of the nominator play a pivotal role, driven by the desire to craft a harmonious and user-friendly term. Additionally, the evident intention is to mitigate homonymy and other instances of ambiguity that are incompatible with a coherent terminological system and hinder the unequivocal association of the name with the denoted object.

Pharmaceutical Terminology in Ancient and Medieval Time - andrachne, chrysocolla and Others.

Ancient and medieval pharmacological and medical texts contain a substantial amount of plant and mineral names. In some cases, the identification is straightforward. But for the majority of the data, we are unable to identify these ingredients with high certainty. In this paper, we discuss a selection of plant and mineral names both from a humanities and sciences point of view. In one case, the scientists were even able to examine a plant in situ. The conclusion of our paper is that a close collaboration between sciences and humanities is essential to avoid mistakes in the identification of materia medica.

Accelerating Nature: Induced Atomic Order in Equiatomic FeNi.

The production of locally atomically ordered FeNi (known by its meteoric mineral name, tetrataenite) is confirmed in bulk samples by simultaneous conversion X-ray and backscattered γ-ray 57 Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. Up to 22 volume percent of the tetragonal tetrataenite phase is quantified in samples thermally treated under simultaneous magnetic- and stress-field conditions for a period of 6 weeks, with the remainder identified as the cubic FeNi alloy. In contrast, all precursor samples consist only of the cubic FeNi alloy. Data from the processed alloys are validated using Mössbauer parameters derived from natural meteoritic tetrataenite. The meteoritic tetrataenite exhibits a substantially higher degree of atomic order than do the processed samples, consistent with their low uniaxial magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy of ≈1 kJ·m-3 . These results suggest that targeted refinements to the processing conditions of FeNi will foster greater atomic order and increased magnetocrystalline anisotropy, leading to an enhanced magnetic energy product. These outcomes also suggest that deductions concerning paleomagnetic conditions of the solar system, as derived from meteoritic data, may warrant re-examination and re-evaluation. Additionally, this work strengthens the argument that tetrataenite may indeed become a member of the advanced permanent magnet portfolio, helping to meet rapidly escalating green energy imperatives.

Who’s Who in Mineral Names: John C. Ebner Jr. (b. 1931)

Who’s Who in Mineral Names: John C. Ebner Jr. (b. 1931)

Interpreting materia medica. A case study on Ioannes Archiatrus.

Premodern medical texts are an invaluable source for scholars from humanities and sciences. However, they are usually not accessible as few scientists with an interest in premodern materia medica are also qualified philologists. Therefore, a balance has to be struck to translate these texts while preserving information on how reliable we believe a given translation to be. In this paper, we conduct a case study on the vernacular version of Ioannes archiatrus. The present study forms part of the output of a multidisciplinary Wellcome Trust Collaborative Award combining humanities and sciences. We deployed a multi-layer tagging system to systematise pharmaceutical terminology and to translate these terms while providing confidence factors for individual words. In a second step, we used AntConc, a freeware concordance software, to analyse our primary source and visualise patterns in the text. Our methodology created a readable text that made it possible for the reader to check confidence factors. It also allows our translation and tagging to be recycled for further research. Our methods provide a tool that allows to balance the need to translate and the necessary caution about translated plant and mineral names. Our approach is transferable and it can be modified to suit the needs of other primary sources.

The Where of Mineral Names: Windmountainite: Wind Mountain, Otero County, New Mexico

The Where of Mineral Names: Windmountainite: Wind Mountain, Otero County, New Mexico

Crystal chemistry and compressibility of Fe0.5Mg0.5Al0.5Si0.5O3 and FeMg0.5Si0.5O3 silicate perovskites at pressures up to 95GPa.

Silicate perovskite, with the mineral name bridgmanite, is the most abundant mineral in the Earth's lower mantle. We investigated crystal structures and equations of state of two perovskite-type Fe3+-rich phases, FeMg0.5Si0.5O3 and Fe0.5Mg0.5Al0.5Si0.5O3, at high pressures, employing single-crystal X-ray diffraction and synchrotron Mössbauer spectroscopy. We solved their crystal structures at high pressures and found that the FeMg0.5Si0.5O3 phase adopts a novel monoclinic double-perovskite structure with the space group of P21/n at pressures above 12GPa, whereas the Fe0.5Mg0.5Al0.5Si0.5O3 phase adopts an orthorhombic perovskite structure with the space group of Pnma at pressures above 8GPa. The pressure induces an iron spin transition for Fe3+ in a (Fe0.7,Mg0.3)O6 octahedral site of the FeMg0.5Si0.5O3 phase at pressures higher than 40GPa. No iron spin transition was observed for the Fe0.5Mg0.5Al0.5Si0.5O3 phase as all Fe3+ ions are located in bicapped prism sites, which have larger volumes than an octahedral site of (Al0.5,Si0.5)O6.

New Mineral Names: Heavy metal and minerals from China

Abstract This issue of New Mineral Names summarizes new species that contain toxic heavy metals and rare earth elements with a partial focus on new minerals found in China. All these new minerals have potential uses for environmental and technological applications, and their origins reflect historical mining or cultural significance. Here we look at fluorbritholite-(Nd), napoliite, scenicite, evseeite, haitaite-(La), dongchuanite, liguowuite, and gysinite-(La).

Influence of the sintering atmosphere on the physico-chemical properties and the osteoclastic resorption of β-tricalcium phosphate cylinders.

One of the most widely used materials for bone graft substitution is β-Tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP; β-Ca3(PO4)2). β-TCP is typically produced by sintering in air or vacuum. During this process, evaporation of phosphorus (P) species occurs, leading to the formation of a calcium-rich alkaline layer. It was recently shown that the evaporation of P species could be prevented by co-sintering β-TCP with dicalcium phosphate (DCPA; CaHPO4; mineral name: monetite). The aim of this study was to see how a change of sintering atmosphere could affect the physico-chemical and biological properties of β-TCP. For this purpose, three experimental groups were considered: β-TCP cylinders sintered in air and subsequently polished to remove the surface layer (control group); the same polished cylinders after subsequent annealing at 500°C in air to generate a calcium-rich alkaline layer (annealed group); and finally, β-TCP cylinders sintered in a monetite-rich atmosphere and subsequently polished (monetite group). XPS analysis confirmed that cylinders from the annealed group had a significantly higher Ca/P molar ratio at their surface than that of the control group while this ratio was significantly lower for the cylinders from the monetite group. Sintering β-TCP in the monetite-rich atmosphere significantly reduced the grain size and increased the density. Changes of surface composition affected the activity of osteoclasts seeded onto the surfaces, since annealed β-TCP cylinders were significantly less resorbed than β-TCP cylinders sintered in the monetite-rich atmosphere. This suggests that an increase of the surface Ca/P molar ratio leads to a decrease of osteoclastic resorption. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Minimal changes of surface and bulk (< 1%) composition have major effects on the ability of osteoclasts to resorb β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP), one of the most widely used ceramics for bone substitution. The results presented in this study are thus important for the calcium phosphate community because (i) β-TCP may have up to 5% impurities according to ISO and ASTM standards and still be considered to be "pure β-TCP", (ii) β-TCP surface properties are generally not considered during biocompatibility assessment and (iii) a rationale can be proposed to explain the various inconsistencies reported in the literature on the biological properties of β-TCP.