Diaspore

Diaspore

Description

A hydrated aluminum oxide mineral. Diaspore occurs naturally with [fullrecord.asp?name=bauxite bauxite], [fullrecord.asp?name=corundum corundum], and [fullrecord.asp?name=emery emery]. It is a white or pale colored mineral ranging from transparent to translucent. Diaspore has been found in Hungary, Greece, Asia Minor, the Ural Mountains and the United States (Massachusetts). It is used as an [fullrecord.asp?name=abrasive abrasive] and a [fullrecord.asp?name=refractory material refractory clay].

Synonyms and Related Terms

aluminum hydroxide; disporo (Esp.); Diaspor (Deut.); diaspoor (Ned.)

Raman

Other Properties

Prismatic orthorhombic crystals. brittle with conchoidal fracture. Luster = vitreous to pearly

Composition	AlO(OH)
Density	3.3-3.5
Mohs Hardness	6.5 - 7.0

Authority

• Robert Fournier, Robert Fournier, Illustrated Dictionary of Practical Pottery, Chilton Book Company, Radnor, PA, 1992

• Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, at http://www.wikipedia.com Comment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaspore (Accessed Sept. 7, 2005)

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

• Random House, 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