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Sulphur

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Cozzodisi Mine, Casteltermini, Agrigento Province, Sicily, Italy
© Peter Haas

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Formula:
S
 
8
System:OrthorhombicColour:Yellow, sulphur-yellow, ...
Lustre:Resinous, GreasyHardness:1½ - 2½
Name:From Middle English "sulphur", brimstone.
Dimorph of:Rosickýite


Sulphur Group.

Crystals are usually yellow to yellowish-brown blocky dipyramids, with thick tabular and disphenoidal crystals less common. Also found more typically as powdery yellow coatings. Native sulphur is usually formed from volcanic action - as a sublimate from volcanic gasses associated with realgar, cinnabar and other minerals. It is also found in some vein deposits and as an alteration product of sulphide minerals. It can also be formed biogenically.
NOTE: The American spelling is 'sulfur'.

Classification of Sulphur

IMA status:Valid - first described prior to 1959 (pre-IMA) - "Grandfathered"
Strunz 8th edition ID:1/0.0-10
Nickel-Strunz 10th (pending) edition ID:1.CC.05

1 : ELEMENTS (Metals and intermetallic alloys; metalloids and nonmetals; carbides, silicides, nitrides, phosphides)
C : Metalloids and Nonmetals
C : Sulfur-selenium-iodine
Dana 7th edition ID:1.3.4.1
Dana 8th edition ID:1.3.5.1

1 : NATIVE ELEMENTS AND ALLOYS
3 : Semi-metals and non-metals
Hey's CIM Ref.:1.51

1 : Elements and Alloys (including the arsenides, antimonides and bismuthides of Cu, Ag and Au)
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Occurrences of Sulphur

Geological Setting:Usually formed from volcanic action - as a sublimate from volcanic gasses associated with realgar, cinnabar and other minerals. It is also found in some vein deposits and as an alteration product of sulphide minerals. It can also be formed biogenically - a major source being salt doems, where it has formed by the bacterial decomposition of calcium sulfate.

Physical Properties of Sulphur

Lustre:Resinous, Greasy
Diaphaneity (Transparency):Transparent, Translucent
Colour:Yellow, sulphur-yellow, brownish or greenish yellow, orange, white
Streak:Colourless
Hardness (Mohs):1½ - 2½
Hardness Data:Measured
Tenacity:Brittle
Cleavage:Imperfect/Fair
Imperfect on {001}, {110} and {111}.
Parting:Parting on {111}
Fracture:Irregular/Uneven, Conchoidal
Density (measured):2.07 g/cm3
Density (calculated):2.08 g/cm3

Crystallography of Sulphur

Crystal System:Orthorhombic
Class (H-M):mmm (2/m 2/m 2/m) - Dipyramidal
Space Group:Fddd (F2/d 2/d 2/d)
Cell Parameters:a = 10.45Å, b = 12.84Å, c = 24.46Å
Ratio:a:b:c = 0.814 : 1 : 1.905
Unit Cell Volume:V 3,281.99 ų (Calculated from Unit Cell)
Z:128
Morphology:Over 50 forms have been noted, blocky dipyramidal ones most common, also tabular and sphenoidal; also found as powdery coatings, massive material, and in reniform and stalactic forms.
Crystal Atlas:
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Sulfur no.1 - Goldschmidt (1913-1926)
Sulfur no.8 - Goldschmidt (1913-1926)
Sulfur no.81 - Goldschmidt (1913-1926)
Sulfur no.116 - Goldschmidt (1913-1926)

About Crystal Atlas

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The mindat.org Crystal Atlas allows you to view a selection of crystal drawings of real and idealised crystal forms for this mineral and, in certain cases, 3d rotating crystal objects. You need Java to see these. You can download Java for free - click here to download Java

The 3d models and java code are kindly provided by www.smorf.nl. You can control the movement of the models by holding down the left mouse-button over the 3d model and moving your mouse. Keyboard controls are:

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t/T: decrease/increase transparency x/X: next/previous texture
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X-Ray Powder Diffraction:
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Radiation - Copper Kα
Data Set:
Horizontal Axis: ° to ° Vertical Axis: % Source Data: Filtered Data: Peaks:
Data courtesy of RRUFF project at University of Arizona, used with permission.
X-Ray Powder Diffraction:
d-spacingIntensity
3.85(100)
3.44(40)
3.33(30)
3.21(60)
3.11(30)
3.08(20)
2.84(20)
Comments:Data given are for synthetic mateiral.

Optical Data of Sulphur

Type:Biaxial (+)
RI values: nα = 1.958 nβ = 2.038 nγ = 2.245
2V:Measured: 68° , Calculated: 70°
Maximum Birefringence:δ = 0.287

Chart shows birefringence interference colour range (at 30µm thickness) and does not take into account mineral colouration.
Surface Relief:Very High
Dispersion:relatively weak

Chemical Properties of Sulphur

Formula:
S
 
8
Essential elements:S
All elements listed in formula:S
Analytical Data:Sulfur, orthorhombic, is alpha-S, while rosickyite, monoclinic, is gamma-S.
Relationship of Sulphur to other Species
Related to:
  • Sulphur Group
    • Related Minerals - Nickel-Strunz Grouping):

    - + 
    1.CC.05Rosickýite
    S
    1.CC.10Selenium
    Se
    1.CC.10Tellurium
    Te
    Related Minerals - Hey's Index Grouping:

    - + 
    1.1Copper
    Cu
    1.2Silver
    Ag
    1.5Gold
    Au
    1.6Auricupride
    Cu
     
    3
    		Au
    1.7Tetra-auricupride
    AuCu
    1.8Zinc
    Zn
    1.9Cadmium
    Cd
    1.10Danbaite
    CuZn
     
    2
    1.11Zhanghengite
    CuZn
    1.12Mercury
    Hg
    1.13Kolymite
    Cu
     
    7
    		Hg
     
    6
    1.14Moschellandsbergite
    Ag
     
    2
    		Hg
     
    3
    1.15Eugenite
    Ag
     
    11
    		Hg
     
    2
    1.16Schachnerite
    Ag
     
    1.1
    		Hg
     
    0.9
    1.17Paraschachnerite
    Ag
     
    3
    		Hg
     
    2
    1.18Luanheite
    Ag
     
    3
    		Hg
    1.19Weishanite
    (Au,Ag)
     
    3
    		Hg
     
    2
    1.20Indium
    In
    1.21Aluminium
    Al
    1.22Khatyrkite
    (Cu,Zn)Al
     
    2
    1.23Cupalite
    (Cu,Zn)Al
    1.24Diamond
    C
    1.25Graphite
    C
    1.26Chaoite
    C
    1.27Lonsdaleite
    C
    1.28Silicon
    Si
    1.29Tin
    Sn
    1.30Lead
    Pb
    1.31Anyuiite
    Au(Pb,Sb)
     
    2
    1.31Novodneprite
    AuPb
     
    3
    1.32Leadamalgam
    HgPb
     
    2
    1.33Arsenic
    As
    1.34Arsenolamprite
    As
    1.35Paxite
    CuAs
     
    2
    1.36Koutekite
    Cu
     
    5
    		As
     
    2
    1.37Domeykite
    Cu
     
    3
    		As
    1.38Algodonite
    (Cu
     
    1-x
    		As
     
    x
    		)
    1.39Novakite
    Cu
     
    20
    		AgAs
     
    10
    1.40Kutinaite
    Cu
     
    2
    		AgAs
    1.41Antimony
    Sb
    1.42Stibarsen
    AsSb
    1.43Paradocrasite
    Sb
     
    3
    		As
    1.44Horsfordite
    1.45Cuprostibite
    Cu
     
    2
    		(Sb,Tl)
    1.46Allargentum
    (Ag
     
    1-x
    		Sb
     
    x
    		)
    1.47Aurostibite
    AuSb
     
    2
    1.48Dyscrasite
    Ag
     
    3
    		Sb
    1.49Bismuth
    Bi
    1.50Maldonite
    Au
     
    2
    		Bi
    1.52Rosickýite
    S
    1.53Selenium
    Se
    1.54Tellurium
    Te
    1.55Chromium
    Cr
    1.56Rhenium
    Re
    1.57Iron
    Fe
    1.58Chromferide
    Fe
     
    3
    		Cr
     
    1-x
    		 (x=0.6)
    1.59Ferchromide
    Cr
     
    1.5
    		Fe
     
    0.5-x
    1.60Wairauite
    CoFe
    1.61Nickel
    Ni
    1.62Kamacite
    (Fe,Ni)
    1.63Taenite
    (Fe,Ni)
    1.64Tetrataenite
    FeNi
    1.65Awaruite
    Ni
     
    3
    		Fe
    1.66Palladium
    (Pd,Pt)
    1.67Potarite
    PdHg
    1.68Paolovite
    Pd
     
    2
    		Sn
    1.69Stannopalladinite
    (Pd,Cu)
     
    3
    		Sn
     
    2
    1.70Cabriite
    Pd
     
    2
    		SnCu
    1.71Taimyrite
    (Pd,Cu,Pt)
     
    3
    		Sn
    1.72Atokite
    (Pd,Pt)
     
    3
    		Sn
    1.73Rustenburgite
    (Pt,Pd)
     
    3
    		Sn
    1.74Zvyagintsevite
    (Pd,Pt,Au)
     
    3
    		(Pb,Sn)
    1.75Plumbopalladinite
    Pd
     
    3
    		Pb
     
    2
    1.76Osmium
    (Os,Ir,Ru)
    1.77Iridium
    (Ir,Os,Ru)
    1.82Platinum
    Pt
    1.83Hongshiite
    PtCu
    1.84Niggliite
    PtSn
    1.85Isoferroplatinum
    Pt
     
    3
    		Fe
    1.86Tetraferroplatinum
    PtFe
    1.87Tulameenite
    Pt
     
    2
    		CuFe
    1.88Ferronickelplatinum
    Pt
     
    2
    		FeNi
    1.89Rhodium
    (Rh,Pt)
    Related Minerals - Dana Grouping):

    - + 
    1.3.4.2Rosickýite
    S
    Other Names for Sulphur
    Synonyms:
    Alpha-SulfurAlpha-Sulphurα-Sulfura-Sulphurα-Sulphur
    BrimstoneNative SNative SulfurNative SulphurSulfur-α
    Sulfur-alphaSulphur-αSulphur-alpha
    Other Languages:
    Afrikaans:Swawel
    Albanian:Squfuri
    Arabic:كبريت
    Armenian:Ծծումբ
    Asturian:Azufre
    Aymara:Asuphri
    Azeri:Kükürd
    Basque:Sufre
    Belarusian:Сера
    Bengali:গন্ধক
    Bosnian (Latin Script):Sumpor
    Bulgarian:Сяра
    Catalan:Sofre
    Corsican:Zolfu
    Croatian:Sumpor
    Czech:Síra
    Danish:Svovl
    Dutch:Zwavel
    Erzya:Палыкандал
    Esperanto:Sulfuro
    Estonian:Väävel
    Finnish:Rikki
    French:Soufre
    Friulian:Solfar
    Galician:Xofre
    German:Schwefel
    Gediegen Schwefel
    Greek:Θείο
    Guarani:Itaysy
    Haitian:Souf
    Hakka:Liù-vòng
    Hebrew:גופרית
    Hindi:गन्धक
    Hungarian:Kén
    Icelandic:Brennisteinn
    Ido:Sulfo
    Indonesian:Belerang
    Irish Gaelic:Sulfar
    Italian:Zolfo
    Solfo
    Japanese:硫黄
    Javanese:Welirang
    Kannada:ಗಂಧಕ
    Korean:황
    Kurdish (Latin Script):Kibrît
    Latin:Sulphur
    Latvian:Sērs
    Limburgian:Solfer
    Lithuanian:Siera
    Lojban:sliri
    Low Saxon:Swevel
    Luxembourgish:Schwiefel
    Macedonian:Сулфур
    Malayalam:ഗന്ധകം
    Manx:Sulfur
    Maori:Pungatara
    Marathi:सल्फर
    Mongolian (Cyrillic Script):Хүхэр
    Nahuatl:Tlequiquiztlālli
    Norwegian (Bokmål):Svovel
    Norwegian (Nynorsk):Svovel
    Novial:Sulfre
    Occitan:Sofre
    Persian:گوگرد
    Polish:Siarka
    Portuguese:Enxofre
    Quechua:Salina
    Romanian:Sulf
    Russian:Сера
    Serbian (Cyrillic Script):Сумпор
    Serbo-Croatian:Sumpor
    Sicilian:Sùrfuru
    Simplified Chinese:硫
    Slovak:Síra
    Slovenian:Žveplo
    Spanish:Azufre
    Sundanese:Walirang
    Swahili:Sulfuri
    Swedish:Svavel
    Tamil:கந்தகம்
    Telugu:గంధకము
    Thai:กำมะถัน
    Traditional Chinese:硫
    Turkish:Kükürt
    Ukrainian:Сірка
    Upper Sorbian:Syrik
    Uzbek (Latin Script):Oltingugurt
    Vietnamese:Lưu huỳnh
    Welsh:Sylffwr
    West Flemish:Sulfer
    Yiddish:שװעבל
    Varieties:
    Selenian Sulphur
    Other Information
    Thermal Behaviour:With a low melting point of 113 degrees C. sulphur burns readily in air, with a low blue flame, and gives off choking fumes of sulphur-dioxide - "rotten" egg odor.
    Health Warning:No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.
    Industrial Uses:Used in a great many applications, ranging from matches and fireworks to rubber.
    References for Sulphur
    Reference List:Palache, Charles, Harry Berman & Clifford Frondel (1944), The System of Mineralogy of James Dwight Dana and Edward Salisbury Dana Yale University 1837-1892, Volume I: Elements, Sulfides, Sulfosalts, Oxides. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York. 7th edition, revised and enlarged, 834pp.: 140-144.
    

    
Ventriglia U. – (1951) Sulla struttura dello zolfo rombico. Periodico di Mineralogia – Roma  pp. 237-255.
    

    
Acta Crystallographica (1987): C43: 2260-2262.
    

    
Gaines, Richard V., H. Catherine, W. Skinner, Eugene E. Foord, Brian Mason, Abraham Rosenzweig (1997), Dana's New Mineralogy : The System of Mineralogy of James Dwight Dana and Edward Salisbury Dana: 30.
    

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