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Lonsdaleite

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Kathleen Lonsdale
Formula:
C
Colour:
Transparent brownish-yellow, grayish
Lustre:
Adamantine
Hardness:
7 - 8
Specific Gravity:
3.2
Crystal System:
Hexagonal
Name:
For Dame Kathleen Lonsdale (1903-1971), Irish crystallographer who established the structure of benzene by X-ray diffraction methods in 1929. She also worked on the synthesis of diamonds, and was a pioneer in the use of X-rays to study crystals.
Polymorph of:
Chaoite, Diamond, Graphite
Originally described as an allotrope of carbon based on a hexagonal lattice (Bundy & Kasper, 1967).
Németh et al. (2014) demonstrated "lonsdaleite" to be a faulted and twinned cubic diamond. He also showed that other reported carbon polymorphs can be explained by twinning and stacking faults.


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Classification of LonsdaleiteHide

IMA status:
Approved
First Published:
1967
Strunz 8th ed.:
1/B.02-50
Nickel-Strunz 10th (pending) ed.:
1.CB.10b

1 : ELEMENTS (Metals and intermetallic alloys; metalloids and nonmetals; carbides, silicides, nitrides, phosphides)
C : Metalloids and Nonmetals
B : Carbon-silicon family
Dana 7th ed.:
1.3.5.3
Dana 8th ed.:
1.3.6.3

1 : NATIVE ELEMENTS AND ALLOYS
3 : Semi-metals and non-metals
Hey's CIM Ref.:
1.27

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

Physical Properties of LonsdaleiteHide

Lustre:
Adamantine
Transparency:
Transparent
Colour:
Transparent brownish-yellow, grayish
Hardness:
7 - 8 on Mohs scale
Hardness Data:
Measured
Comment:
imperfections in natural Lonsdaleite reduce hardness, artificial material has tested harder than diamond (>10) , See Physical Review letters (2009)
Density:
3.2 g/cm3 (Measured)    3.51 g/cm3 (Calculated)

Optical Data of LonsdaleiteHide

Type:
Uniaxial (+/-)
RI values:
nα = 2.404 nβ = 2.404
Max Birefringence:
δ = 2.404
Image shows birefringence interference colour range (at 30µm thickness)
and does not take into account mineral colouration.
Surface Relief:
Very High

Chemical Properties of LonsdaleiteHide

Crystallography of LonsdaleiteHide

Crystal System:
Hexagonal
Class (H-M):
6/mmm (6/m 2/m 2/m) - Dihexagonal Dipyramidal
Space Group:
P63/mmc
Cell Parameters:
a = 2.51 Å, c = 4.12 Å
Ratio:
a:c = 1 : 1.641
Unit Cell V:
22.48 ų (Calculated from Unit Cell)
Z:
4
Morphology:
Fine grained aggregates

Type Occurrence of LonsdaleiteHide

Synonyms of LonsdaleiteHide

Other Language Names for LonsdaleiteHide

German:Lonsdaleit
Simplified Chinese:六方金刚石
Spanish:Lonsdaleita

Related Minerals - Nickel-Strunz GroupingHide

1.CB.05bChaoiteCHex. 6/mmm (6/m 2/m 2/m) : P6/mmm
1.CB.05aGraphiteCHex. 6mm : P63mc
1.CB.05cFulleriteC60Tet.
1.CB.10aDiamondCIso. m3m (4/m 3 2/m) : Fd3m
1.CB.15SiliconSi

Related Minerals - Dana Grouping (8th Ed.)Hide

1.3.6.1DiamondCIso. m3m (4/m 3 2/m) : Fd3m
1.3.6.2GraphiteCHex. 6mm : P63mc
1.3.6.4ChaoiteCHex. 6/mmm (6/m 2/m 2/m) : P6/mmm

Related Minerals - Hey's Chemical Index of Minerals GroupingHide

1.1CopperCuIso. m3m (4/m 3 2/m) : Fm3m
1.2SilverAgIso. m3m (4/m 3 2/m) : Fm3m
1.5GoldAuIso. m3m (4/m 3 2/m) : Fm3m
1.6AuricuprideCu3AuOrth.
1.7Tetra-auricuprideAuCuTet.
1.8ZincZnHex. 6/mmm (6/m 2/m 2/m) : P63/mmc
1.9CadmiumCdHex. 6/mmm (6/m 2/m 2/m) : P63/mmc
1.10DanbaiteCuZn2Iso.
1.11ZhanghengiteCuZnIso.
1.12MercuryHgTrig. 3m (3 2/m) : R3m
1.13KolymiteCu7Hg6Iso.
1.14MoschellandsbergiteAg2Hg3Iso. m3m (4/m 3 2/m)
1.15EugeniteAg11Hg2Iso.
1.16SchachneriteAg1.1Hg0.9Hex.
1.17ParaschachneriteAg3Hg2Orth.
1.18LuanheiteAg3HgHex.
1.19Weishanite(Au,Ag)3Hg2Hex. 6/mmm (6/m 2/m 2/m) : P63/mmc
1.20IndiumInTet.
1.21AluminiumAlIso. m3m (4/m 3 2/m) : Fm3m
1.22Khatyrkite(Cu,Zn)Al2Tet.
1.23Cupalite(Cu,Zn)AlOrth.
1.24DiamondCIso. m3m (4/m 3 2/m) : Fd3m
1.25GraphiteCHex. 6mm : P63mc
1.26ChaoiteCHex. 6/mmm (6/m 2/m 2/m) : P6/mmm
1.28SiliconSi
1.29TinSnTet. 4/mmm (4/m 2/m 2/m) : I41/amd
1.30LeadPbIso. m3m (4/m 3 2/m) : Fm3m
1.31AnyuiiteAuPb2Tet. 4/mmm (4/m 2/m 2/m) : I4/mcm
1.31NovodnepriteAuPb3Tet. 4 2m : I4 2m
1.32LeadamalgamPb0.7Hg0.3Tet. 4/mmm (4/m 2/m 2/m) : I4/mmm
1.33ArsenicAsTrig. 3m (3 2/m) : R3m
1.34ArsenolampriteAsOrth. mmm (2/m 2/m 2/m)
1.35PaxiteCuAs2Mon.
1.36KoutekiteCu5As2Hex.
1.37DomeykiteCu3AsIso. 4 3m : I4 3d
1.38Algodonite(Cu1-xAsx)Hex. 6/mmm (6/m 2/m 2/m) : P63/mmc
1.39NovákiteCu20AgAs10Mon.
1.40KutinaiteAg6Cu14As7 Iso.
1.41AntimonySbTrig. 3m (3 2/m) : R3m
1.42StibarsenAsSbTrig. 3m (3 2/m) : R3m
1.43ParadocrasiteSb3AsMon. 2 : B2
1.44HorsforditeCu, Sb
1.45CuprostibiteCu2(Sb,Tl)Tet. 4/mmm (4/m 2/m 2/m) : P4/nmm
1.46Allargentum(Ag1-xSbx)Hex.
1.47AurostibiteAuSb2Iso. m3 (2/m 3) : Pa3
1.48DyscrasiteAg3SbOrth. mm2 : Pmm2
1.49BismuthBiTrig. 3m (3 2/m) : R3m
1.50MaldoniteAu2BiIso. m3m (4/m 3 2/m) : Fd3m
1.51SulphurS8Orth. mmm (2/m 2/m 2/m) : Fddd
1.52RosickýiteSMon. 2/m : P2/b
1.53SeleniumSeTrig. 3 2 : P31 2 1
1.54TelluriumTeHex.
1.55ChromiumCrIso. m3m (4/m 3 2/m) : Im3m
1.56RheniumReHex.
1.57IronFeIso. m3m (4/m 3 2/m) : Im3m
1.58ChromferideFe3Cr1-x (x=0.6)Iso. m3m (4/m 3 2/m) : Pm3m
1.59FerchromideCr3Fe1-xIso. m3m (4/m 3 2/m) : Pm3m
1.60WairauiteCoFe
1.61NickelNiIso. m3m (4/m 3 2/m) : Fm3m
1.62Kamacite(Fe,Ni)Iso.
1.63Taenite(Fe,Ni)Iso. m3m (4/m 3 2/m) : Fm3m
1.64TetrataeniteFeNiTet.
1.65AwaruiteNi3FeIso. m3m (4/m 3 2/m) : Fm3m
1.66Palladium(Pd,Pt)
1.67PotaritePdHgTet. 4/mmm (4/m 2/m 2/m) : P4/mmm
1.68PaolovitePd2SnOrth.
1.69Stannopalladinite(Pd,Cu)3Sn2Hex.
1.70CabriitePd2CuSnOrth. mmm (2/m 2/m 2/m) : Pmmm
1.71Taimyrite(Pd,Cu,Pt)3SnOrth.
1.72Atokite(Pd,Pt)3SnIso. m3m (4/m 3 2/m) : Fm3m
1.73Rustenburgite(Pt,Pd)3Sn
1.74ZvyagintsevitePd3PbIso.
1.75PlumbopalladinitePd3Pb2Hex.
1.76Osmium(Os,Ir,Ru)Hex. 6/mmm (6/m 2/m 2/m) : P63/mmc
1.77Iridium(Ir,Os,Ru)Iso.
1.82PlatinumPtIso. m3m (4/m 3 2/m) : Fm3m
1.83HongshiitePtCuTrig.
1.84NiggliitePtSnHex.
1.85IsoferroplatinumPt3FeIso.
1.86TetraferroplatinumPtFeTet.
1.87TulameenitePt2CuFeTet.
1.88FerronickelplatinumPt2FeNiTet.
1.89Rhodium(Rh,Pt)Iso.

Other InformationHide

Health Risks:
No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.

References for LonsdaleiteHide

Reference List:
Sort by Year (asc) | by Year (desc) | by Author (A-Z) | by Author (Z-A)
Frondel, C. & Marvin, U.B. (1967): Lonsdaleite, a new hexagonal polymorph of diamond. Nature 214, 587-589.
Frondel, C. & Marvin, U.B. (1967): Lonsdaleite, a hexagonal polymorph of diamond. American Mineralogist 52, 1579-xx.
Hanneman RE, Strong HM, Bundy FP (1967): Hexagonal diamonds in meteorites: implications. Science 155, 995-997.
Bundy, F. P., Kasper, J. S. (1967): Hexagonal Diamond—A New Form of Carbon. Journal of Chemical Physics 46 (9), 3437-3446.
Kaminskii, F.V., G.K. Blinova, E.M. Galimov, G.A. Gurkina, Y.A. Klyuev, L.A. Kodina, V.I. Koptil, V.F. Krivonos, L.N. Frolova, and A.Y. Khrenov (1985): Polycrystalline aggregates of diamond with lonsdaleite from Yakutian [Sakhan] placers. Mineral. Zhurnal 7, 27-36.
He, Hongliang, Sekine, T. & Kobayashi, T. (2002): Direct transformation of cubic diamond to hexagonal diamond. Applied Physics Letters 81 (4), 610.
Physical Review letters (2009) 102, 055503 DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.055503
Péter Németh, Laurence A. J. Garvie, Toshihiro Aoki, Natalia Dubrovinskaia, Leonid Dubrovinsky & Peter R. Buseck (2014): Lonsdaleite is faulted and twinned cubic diamond and does not exist as a discrete material. Nature Communications, 5, article 5447.

Internet Links for LonsdaleiteHide

Localities for LonsdaleiteHide

This map shows a selection of localities that have latitude and longitude coordinates recorded. Click on the symbol to view information about a locality. The symbol next to localities in the list can be used to jump to that position on the map.

Locality ListHide

- This locality has map coordinates listed. - This locality has estimated coordinates. ⓘ - Click for further information on this occurrence. ? - Indicates mineral may be doubtful at this locality. - Good crystals or important locality for species. - World class for species or very significant. (TL) - Type Locality for a valid mineral species. (FRL) - First Recorded Locality for everything else (eg varieties). Struck out - Mineral was erroneously reported from this locality. Faded * - Never found at this locality but inferred to have existed at some point in the past (eg from pseudomorphs.)

All localities listed without proper references should be considered as questionable.
Antarctica
 
  • Eastern Antarctica
    • Victoria Land
      • Allan Hills
Nature 291:396-398 (1981)
Australia
 
  • Western Australia
    • Dundas Shire
      • North Haig
        • Sleeper Camp
Gennady P. Vdovykin (1970). Ureilites. Space Science Reviews 10, #4, 483-510.
Vdovykin, G. P. (1970) Ureilites: Space Science Reviews 10(4): 483-510. (Feb 1970).
China
 
  • Liaoning Province (Manchuria; Dongbei Region)
    • Liaodong Peninsula
      • Dalian Prefecture
        • Wafangdian Co.
          • Fuxian Kimberlite field
            • Toudaogou (incl. Pipes No. 51; 68 & 74)
I. Leung and R. Winston, Eos. Trans. AGU, 83(47), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract #####-##, 2002, MR61A-1028 0830h POSTER
Finland
 
  • Southwestern Finland Region
    • Pargas (Parainen)
      • Nauvo
Vdovykin, G.P. 1972. Forms of carbon in the new Haverö ureilite of Finland. Meteoritics 7 (4) 547-552.
India
 
  • Assam
Gennady P. Vdovykin (1970). Ureilites. Space Science Reviews 10, #4, 483-510.
  • Uttar Pradesh
Gennady P. Vdovykin (1970). Ureilites. Space Science Reviews 10, #4, 483-510.
Russia
 
  • Eastern-Siberian Region
    • Krasnoyarsk Territory (Krasnoyarsk Kray; Krasnoyarskii Krai)
      • Anabarskii massif
        • Popigai river
P.H. Nixon, (1995) The morphology and nature of primary diamondiferous occurrences, Journal of Geochemical Exploration, Volume 53, Issues 1–3, March 1995, Pages 41-71
      • Evenkia (Evenkiyskiy Autonomous okrug)
        • Nizhnyaya Tunguska River Basin (Lower Tunguska River)
Kvasnytsya, V., Wirth, R., Dobrzhinetskaya, L., Matzel, J., Jacobsen, B., Hutcheon, I., ... & Kovalyukh, M. (2013). New evidence of meteoritic origin of the Tunguska cosmic body. Planetary and Space Science, 84, 131-140.
  • Volga Region
    • Mordovia Republic
Gennady P. Vdovykin (1970). Ureilites. Space Science Reviews 10, #4, 483-510.
USA (TL)
 
  • Arizona
    • Coconino Co.
      • Winslow
        • Meteor Crater and vicinity
Anthony, J.W., et al (1995), Mineralogy of Arizona, 3rd.ed.: 203, 280; Frondel, C. & U.B. Marvin (1967a), Lonsdaleite, a new hexagonal polymorph of diamond. Nature: 214: 587-589; Frondel, C. & U.B. Marvin (1967b), Lonsdaleite, a hexagonal polymorph of diamond, Am.Min.: 52: 1576.
  • New Mexico
    • Roosevelt Co.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, vol. 40, Dec. 1976, p. 1429-1437.
Mineral and/or Locality  
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