An X-ray Powder Method for the Estimation of (K, Ba) Feldspars

P. Gay
Department of Mineralogy and Petrology, Cambridge

Summary: Examination of previous physical methods of estimating the barium-content of these feldspars showed that they are generally unsatisfactory. A new variation diagram is constructed correlating BaO content and values of d132 de-termined from diffractometer records. It is estimated that the BaO content of these feldspars can normally be determined to about 2–3% by using this diagram.

Some of the problems of the mineralogy of the series are reviewed in the light of the experimental results, in particular the effect of polymorphic changes on the variation diagram. Some experimental evidence of the effect of different structural states upon the value of d132 is obtained, and the limitations imposed upon the method by the existence of such states are discussed.

Mineralogical Magazine; 1965 v. 34; no. 268; p. 204-213; DOI: 10.1180/minmag.1965.034.268.16
© 1965, The Mineralogical Society
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