Bentorite
Encyclopedia
Bentorite is a mineral
with the chemical formula
Ca6(Cr,Al)2(SO4)3(OH)12·26(H2O). It is colored violet to light violet. Its crystals are hexagonal
to dihexagonal dipyramidal. It is transparent and has vitreous luster. It has perfect cleavage
. It is not radioactive. Bentorite is rated 2 on the Mohs Scale.
The mineral was determined by Shulamit Gross in Hatrurim Formation of Danian age along the western margin of the Dead Sea, Israel, and named for Yaakov Ben-Tor
, Professor at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem and the University of California, San Diego, California, USA, for his contributions to geology and mineralogy in Israel.
Mineral
A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...
with the chemical formula
Chemical formula
A chemical formula or molecular formula is a way of expressing information about the atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound....
Ca6(Cr,Al)2(SO4)3(OH)12·26(H2O). It is colored violet to light violet. Its crystals are hexagonal
Hexagonal crystal system
In crystallography, the hexagonal crystal system is one of the 7 crystal systems, the hexagonal lattice system is one of the 7 lattice systems, and the hexagonal crystal family is one of the 6 crystal families...
to dihexagonal dipyramidal. It is transparent and has vitreous luster. It has perfect cleavage
Cleavage (crystal)
Cleavage, in mineralogy, is the tendency of crystalline materials to split along definite crystallographic structural planes. These planes of relative weakness are a result of the regular locations of atoms and ions in the crystal, which create smooth repeating surfaces that are visible both in the...
. It is not radioactive. Bentorite is rated 2 on the Mohs Scale.
The mineral was determined by Shulamit Gross in Hatrurim Formation of Danian age along the western margin of the Dead Sea, Israel, and named for Yaakov Ben-Tor
Yaakov Ben-Tor
- Biography :Ben-Tor was born in the Baltic city of Königsberg, East Prussia, Germany in 1910 and emigrated to the then British Mandate of Palestine in 1933.- See also :*List of Israel Prize recipients...
, Professor at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem and the University of California, San Diego, California, USA, for his contributions to geology and mineralogy in Israel.