spinel

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“
Forty years ago, in search for denser polymorphs of the then experimentally discovered silicate spinel (ringwoodite) and modified spinel (wadsleyite) that are stable at the pressure and temperature conditions of the Earth's transition zone, scientists started to search for a post-spinel phase denser than spinel which may appear at much higher pressure.

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Definitions (10)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. noun A hard, variously colored mineral with composition MgAl2O4, having usually octahedral crystals and occurring in igneous and carbonate rocks. The red variety is valued as a gem and is sometimes confused with ruby.
  2. noun Any of a group of minerals that are oxides of magnesium, iron, zinc, manganese, or aluminum.

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Examples (50)

  • Most people think that so-called 'noble' spinel (only means gem quality) is always red, which isn't true. —  process 10
  • The great 'Black Prince's Ruby' in our Crown jewels is secretly a spinel, not a ruby at all, but don't let on. —  process 10
  • The first new mineral with post-spinel structure is approved by CNMNC of IMA —  EurekAlert! - Breaking News
  • Xiete is the first new mineral with post-spinel structure found by a Chinese-American team from the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, which has recently been approved by the Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification of the International Mineralogical Association. —  EurekAlert! - Breaking News
  • This study presents the first natural occurrence of post-spinel mineral "xieite", which occurs in the Suizhou meteorite which underwent a strong collision in space. —  EurekAlert! - Breaking News
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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Italian spinella, diminutive of spina, thorn (from its sharply pointed crystals), from Latin spīna.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. Also spinelle, espinel; early modern English spinelle; from Old French spinelle, espinelle, French spinelle = Italian spinella, spinel; prob. orig. applied to a mineral with spine-shaped crystals; diminutive of Latin spina, a thorn, spine: see spine.
 

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/ˈspɪnɛl/
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