Soda Feldspar minerals have a surprisingly consistent range of physical properties. Most minerals present in albite have two perfect cleavage directions that intersect at nearly right angles. Not only do they have roughly the same cleave dip, but they also have similar Mohs hardness and specific gravity.
Most feldspar minerals have a specific gravity in the 2.5-2.8 range, while their Mohs hardness hovers around 6 to 6.5. In addition to all these similarities in physical properties, all feldspar minerals have a vitreous luster, which is predominantly pearly on the cluster faces. This is a great way to identify feldspar minerals.
These properties of soda feldspar minerals are generally consistent in all forms of these minerals and are useful even if the feldspar crystals to be identified are very small. Those who are familiar with sodium feldspar cleavage can easily identify feldspar in igneous rocks. No matter how small the feldspar crystals are, they can be easily separated from other minerals when examining igneous rocks with a hand-held lens because its properties are easily identifiable.
With very little practice, a set of mineral hardness picks and a handheld lens can be used to determine the Mohs hardness of even the tiny feldspar mineral.
As detailed later, many applications of feldspar stem from its unique behavior at temperature. Feldspar tends to transition from brittle to ductile in the temperature range of 700 to 800 °C – much lower than many materials with which they are mixed – so it often behaves as a flux.
Albite Manufacturer of Lishi Industrial
Anyang Lishi Industrial Co., Ltd is specialized in the producing, trading and innovation of sodium feldspar Mineral to the the ceramic body, ceramic tiles and glass Industries, small quantities to other paints, plastics, fritz and glazes industries. Lishi Industrial covers an area of 45,000 square meters, with state-of-the-art production equipments, factory laboratory and testing center to ensure customers the first quality products. As one of the leader of sodium feldspar manufacturer, Anyang Lishi Industrial Co., Ltd is a mines owner of Sodium Feldspar, with strict quality control, Prompt delivery and professional service, serving more than 200 customers among in Vietnam, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Oman, South Korea, Bangladesh, Kuwait and etc.
