Difference between revisions of "Cerussite"

Latest revision as of 08:02, 28 May 2022

Cerussite crystals

Description

A grayish-white, crystalline mineral composed of lead carbonate. Cerussite, first described by K. Gesner in 1565, is one of the primary types of lead ore. It is mined in Spain (Murcia), England (Cornwall), Saxony (Johanngerogenstadt), Namibia (Tsumeb), Australia (New South Wales), Canada (British Columbia) and the U.S.(Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Idaho, Pennsylvania). Cerussite can be formed by the action of ground water on Galena (lead sulfide) ore. Although basic lead carbonate has been used as a white pigment since ancient times, it was made synthetically and not obtained from the naturally occurring cerussite ore. In fact, cerussite has rarely been used as a white pigment although it is occasionally found as an impurity in basic lead carbonate (Gettens, Kuhn and Chase, 1993).

cerussite

Synonyms and Related Terms

normal lead carbonate; natural lead carbonate; horn silver; Cerussit (Deut.); Weißbleierz (Deut.); cérusite (Fr.); cerusita (Esp.); albayalde (Esp.); carbonato de plomo (Esp.); cerussite (It.); cerusite (Port.); cerussiet (Ned.)

FTIR (PMA)

Raman

Risks

Toxic. Carcinogen, teratogen, suspected mutagen

Physical and Chemical Properties

Orthorhombic crystal system with tabular, prismatic or pyramidal crystals.
Brittle with conchoidal fracture.
Yellowish to golden fluorescence.
Can be transparent to translucent.
Luster = adamantine to silky.
Streak = white.
Effervescent in acids.
Ground particle are transparent under plane polarized light.
High birefringence under cross polars with fourth order interference colors. Extinction is complete

Composition	PbCO3
Mohs Hardness	3.0 - 3.5
Density	6.55 g/ml
Refractive Index	1.803; 2.074; 2.076

Resources and Citations

R.J.Gettens, H. Kuhn, and W.T. Chase, "Lead White", Artists Pigments, Volume 2, A. Roy (ed.), Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1993.

Mineralogy Database: Cerussite

Nicholas Eastaugh, Valentine Walsh, Tracey Chaplin, Ruth Siddall, Pigment Compendium, Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, 2004 Comment: Vol 2, page 301

Encyclopedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com Comment: cerussite" [Accessed December 4, 2001].

C.W.Chesterman, K.E.Lowe, Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1979 Comment: source for physical parameters

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerussite (Accessed Sept 2 2005, Mons=3-3.75, spec. grav=6.5)

Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993

Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia, Douglas M. Considine (ed.), Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1976

Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 normal lead carbonate; natural lead carbonate; horn silver; Cerussit (Deut.); Weißbleierz (Deut.); cérusite (Fr.); cerusita (Esp.); albayalde (Esp.); carbonato de plomo (Esp.); cerussite (It.); cerusite (Port.); cerussiet (Ned.)
-[[[SliderGallery rightalign|Cerussiteitaly1.jpg~Raman]]]
+[[[SliderGallery rightalign|Cerussite PMA.TIF~FTIR (PMA)|Cerussiteitaly1.jpg~Raman]]]
-== Other Properties ==
+== Risks ==
-Orthorhombic crystal system with tabular, prismatic or pyramidal crystals.  Brittle with conchoidal fracture.  Yellowish to golden fluorescence.  Can be transparent to translucent.
+* Toxic. Carcinogen, teratogen, suspected mutagen
-Luster = adamantine to silky.  Streak = white.  Effervescent in acids.
+==Physical and Chemical Properties==
-Ground particle are transparent under plane polarized light.  High birefringence under cross polars with fourth order interference colors.  Extinction is complete
+* Orthorhombic crystal system with tabular, prismatic or pyramidal crystals.
+* Brittle with conchoidal fracture.
+* Yellowish to golden fluorescence.
+* Can be transparent to translucent.
+* Luster = adamantine to silky.
+* Streak = white.
+* Effervescent in acids.
+* Ground particle are transparent under plane polarized light.
+* High birefringence under cross polars with fourth order interference colors.  Extinction is complete
 {| class="wikitable"
@@ Line 29: / Line 37: @@
 |-
 ! scope="row"| Density
-| 6.55
+| 6.55 g/ml
 |-
 ! scope="row"| Refractive Index
@@ Line 35: / Line 43: @@
 |}
-== Hazards and Safety ==
+==Resources and Citations==
-Toxic. Carcinogen, teratogen, suspected mutagen
+* R.J.Gettens, H. Kuhn, and W.T. Chase, "Lead White", ''Artists Pigments'', Volume 2, A. Roy (ed.), Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1993.
-== Additional Information ==
+* Mineralogy Database: [http://www.webmineral.com/data/Cerussite.shtml Cerussite]
-° R.J.Gettens, H. Kuhn, and W.T. Chase, "Lead White", ''Artists Pigments'', Volume 2, A. Roy (ed.), Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1993.° Mineralogy Database: [http://www.webmineral.com/data/Cerussite.shtml Cerussite]
-== Authority ==
 * Nicholas Eastaugh, Valentine Walsh, Tracey Chaplin, Ruth Siddall, ''Pigment Compendium'', Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, 2004  Comment: Vol 2, page 301
-* ''Encyclopedia Britannica'', http://www.britannica.com  Comment: cerussite" Encyclopædia Britannica [Accessed December 4, 2001].
+* ''Encyclopedia Britannica'', http://www.britannica.com  Comment: cerussite" [Accessed December 4, 2001].
 * C.W.Chesterman, K.E.Lowe, ''Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals'', Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1979  Comment: source for physical parameters
-* Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, at http://www.wikipedia.com  Comment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerussite (Accessed Sept 2 2005, Mons=3-3.75, spec. grav=6.5)
+* Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerussite (Accessed Sept 2 2005, Mons=3-3.75, spec. grav=6.5)
 * Richard S. Lewis, ''Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary'', Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993