65 - Diopside

ID	65
Mineral	Diopside
Location	Cascade Mountain - Keene - New York - United States of America
Fluorescence	LW-UV: close SW-UV: close
Mindat.org	View Diopside information at mindat.org

ID	1294
Long ID	1:1:1294:8
Formula	`CaMgSi₂O₆`
IMA Status	0 1
Discovery Year	1800
Diapheny	Transparent,Opaque
Cleavage	on {110}
Tenacity	brittle
Colour	Light to dark green, blue, brown, colourless, snow white, grey, pale violet
Hardness (min)	5.5
Hardness (max)	6.5
Lustre	Vitreous
About the name	Named in 1806 by Rene Just Haüy from the Greek δις- for "double" (or even better for "twice") and όψις" (or "ὄψις" in ancient Greek) - for "appearance", in allusion to two possible orientations of the prism zone. see also https://www.mindat.org/mesg-588879.html
Streak	White
Crystal System	Monoclinic
Cleavage Type	Distinct/Good
Fracture type	Irregular/Uneven,Conchoidal
Morphology	Prismatic crystals with square cross sections.
Twinning	Simple or multiple twins on {100} or {010} common.
UV	Bright blue-white (white coloured material) (SW UV)
shortcode_ima	Di
Group	Clinopyroxene Subgroup

Diopside