kamacite
Sign in to saveKamacite is an alloy of iron and nickel, which is found on Earth only in meteorites. According to the International Mineralogical Association (IMA) it is considered a proper nickel-rich variety of the mineral native iron. The proportion iron:nickel is between 90%:10% and 95%:5%; small quantities of other elements, such as cobalt or carbon may also be present. The mineral has a metallic luster, is gray and has no clear cleavage although its crystal structure is isometric-hexoctahedral. Its density is about 8 g/cm3 and its hardness is 4 on the Mohs scale. It is also sometimes called balkene
Key facts
- Mineral.name
- Kamacite
- Mineral.category
- Meteorite mineral
- Mineral.image
- Widmanstatten patterns 2.jpg
- Mineral.imagesize
- 260px
- Mineral.caption
- Widmanstätten pattern showing the two forms of nickel-iron minerals, kamacite and taenite
- Mineral.formula
- α-(Fe,Ni); Fe00.9Ni00.1
- Mineral.molweight
- 56.13 g/mol
- Mineral.strunz
- 1.AE.05
- Mineral.system
- Isometric
- Mineral.class
- Hexoctahedral (mm) H-M symbol: (4/m 2/m)
- Mineral.symmetry
- Imm
- Mineral.color
- Iron black, steel gray
- Mineral.habit
- Massive – uniformly indistinguishable crystals forming large masses
- Mineral.cleavage
- Indistinct
- Mineral.fracture
- Hackly – Jagged, torn surfaces, (e.g. fractured metals).
- Mineral.mohs
- 4
- Mineral.luster
- Metallic
- Mineral.streak
- Gray
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Widmanstatten patterns 2.jpg
Show 3 more facts
- Commons category
- Kamacite
- Nickel-Strunz 9th edition (updated 2009)
- 1.AE.05
- Strunz 8th edition (series ID, updated)
- I/A.04a
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~17 min read
Article
28 sectionsContents
- Physical properties
- Identification
- Tetragonal phase
- Widmanstätten patterns
- Optical properties
- Magnetism
- Crystallography
- Symmetry
- Unit cell
- Chemistry
- Formula and dominant elements
- Conditions of formation
- Trace elements
- Important minor elements, substitutions, solid solutions
- Relationship with taenite
- Stability range
- Effect of shock
- Geologic occurrences
- Meteorites
- Abundance
- Specific examples
- Meteor crater Arizona
- Planets
- Uses
- Museums, university and photo specimen preparation
- Looking to the future
- See also
- References
Kamacite is an alloy of iron and nickel, which is found on Earth only in meteorites. According to the International Mineralogical Association (IMA) it is considered a proper nickel-rich variety of the mineral native iron. The proportion iron:nickel is between 90%:10% and 95%:5%; small quantities of other elements, such as cobalt or carbon may also be present. The mineral has a metallic luster, is gray and has no clear cleavage although its crystal structure is isometric-hexoctahedral. Its density is about 8 g/cm3 and its hardness is 4 on the Mohs scale. It is also sometimes called balkeneisen.
The name was coined in 1861 and is derived from the Greek root καμακ- "kamak" or κάμαξ "kamaks", meaning vine-pole. It is a major constituent of iron meteorites (octahedrite and hexahedrite types). In the octahedrites it is found in bands interleaving with taenite forming Widmanstätten patterns. In hexahedrites, fine parallel lines called Neumann lines are often seen, which are evidence for structural deformation of adjacent kamacite plates due to shock from impacts.