Edingtonite is a white, gray, brown, colorless, pink or yellow

zeolite Zeolites are microporous, crystalline aluminosilicate materials commonly used as commercial adsorbents and catalysts. They mainly consist of silicon, aluminium, oxygen, and have the general formula ･y where is either a metal ion or H+. These p ...

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2 ...

. Its

chemical formula In chemistry, a chemical formula is a way of presenting information about the chemical proportions of atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound or molecule, using chemical element symbols, numbers, and sometimes also other symbol ...

is Ba Al₂ Si₃ O₁₀·4 H₂O. It has varieties with

tetragonal In crystallography, the tetragonal crystal system is one of the 7 crystal systems. Tetragonal crystal lattices result from stretching a cubic lattice along one of its lattice vectors, so that the cube becomes a rectangular prism with a squar ...

, orthorhombic or

triclinic 180px, Triclinic (a ≠ b ≠ c and α ≠ β ≠ γ ) In crystallography, the triclinic (or anorthic) crystal system is one of the 7 crystal systems. A crystal system is described by three basis vectors. In the triclinic system, the crystal i ...

crystals. The mineral occurs within cavities in

nepheline syenite Nepheline syenite is a holocrystalline plutonic rock that consists largely of nepheline and alkali feldspar. The rocks are mostly pale colored, grey or pink, and in general appearance they are not unlike granites, but dark green varieties are al ...

carbonatite Carbonatite () is a type of intrusive or extrusive igneous rock defined by mineralogic composition consisting of greater than 50% carbonate minerals. Carbonatites may be confused with marble and may require geochemical verification. Carbonati ...

s, in

hydrothermal vein In geology, a vein is a distinct sheetlike body of crystallized minerals within a rock. Veins form when mineral constituents carried by an aqueous solution within the rock mass are deposited through precipitation. The hydraulic flow involved ...

s and various

mafic A mafic mineral or rock is a silicate mineral or igneous rock rich in magnesium and iron. Most mafic minerals are dark in color, and common rock-forming mafic minerals include olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, and biotite. Common mafic rocks incl ...

rocks. It occurs associated with

thomsonite Thomsonite is the name of a series of tecto-silicate minerals of the zeolite group. Prior to 1997, thomsonite was recognized as a mineral species, but a reclassification in 1997 by the International Mineralogical Association changed it to a ser ...

analcime Analcime (; ) or analcite is a white, gray, or colorless tectosilicate mineral. Analcime consists of hydrated sodium aluminium silicate in cubic crystalline form. Its chemical formula is Na Al Si2 O6· H2O. Minor amounts of potassium and calci ...

natrolite Natrolite is a tectosilicate mineral species belonging to the zeolite group. It is a hydrated sodium and aluminium silicate with the formula . The type locality is Hohentwiel, Hegau, Germany. It was named natrolite by Martin Heinrich Klapro ...

harmotome Harmotome is a mineral, one of the rarer zeolites; a hydrated barium silicate with formula: ( Ba0.5, Ca0.5, Na, K)5 Al5, Si11 O32·12( H2O). It forms vitreous white well defined monoclinic crystals, often associated with calcite and other zeol ...

brewsterite Brewsterite is the name of a series of tectosilicate minerals of the zeolite group. Prior to 1997, brewsterite was recognized as a mineral species, but a reclassification in 1997 by the International Mineralogical Association changed it to a se ...

prehnite Prehnite is an Silicate minerals, inosilicate of calcium and aluminium with the formula: Ca2Al(AlSi3O10)(OH)2. Limited Fe3+ substitutes for aluminium in the structure. Prehnite crystallizes in the orthorhombic crystal system, and most often forms a ...

and calcite. The mineral was first reported by and named for Scottish

mineral collector Mineral collecting is the hobby of systematically collecting, identifying and displaying mineral specimens. Mineral collecting can also be a part of the profession of mineralogy and allied geologic specialties. Individual collectors often sp ...

James Edington (1787–1844).Handbook of Mineralogy
/ref> Other sources (including the mineralogist Haidinger) credit Scottish geologist and mineralogist

Thomas Edington Thomas Edington FRSE FGS MWS (1814–1859) was a Scottish foundry owner and important amateur geologist and mineralogist. He was proprietor of Thomas Edington & Son. Life He was born in Glasgow the eldest son of Thomas Edington of Glasgow (1783 ...

(1814-1859). However, as the mineral was named in 1825, the former accreditation must be the true one.Wilhelm Karl von Haidinger, "Description of Edingtonite, a New Mineral Species", in ''The Edinburgh Journal of Science'', V. iii, October 1825
pp. 316–320
/ref>

References

External links

Edingtonite structure
Zeolites {{silicate-mineral-stub