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General Plagioclase Information

Chemical Formula: (Na,Ca)(Si,Al)4O8

Composition: Molecular Weight = 270.77 gm

Sodium 4.25 % Na 5.72 % Na2O

Calcium 7.40 % Ca 10.36 % CaO

Aluminum 9.96 % Al 18.83 % Al2O3

Silicon 31.12 % Si 66.57 % SiO2

Oxygen 47.27 % O 00.00
100.00 % 101.48 % = TOTAL OXIDE

Empirical Formula: Na0.5Ca0.5Si3AlO8
MODUL VI
Environment: Igneous and metamorphic rocks. Group name for Na,
Ca feldspars.

Locality: Common world wide occurrences.
Name Origin: From the Greek plagios - "oblique" and klao - "I cleave"
MINERALOGI OPTIS

in allusion to the obtuse cleavage angles of the good cleavages.
Link to MinDat.org Location Data.
PLAGIOKLAS

albit
albit anorthite
Physical Properties of Plagioclase

Cleavage: [001] Good, [010] Good

Color: White, Gray, Bluish white, Reddish white, Greenish white.
andesine

Density: 2.61 - 2.76, Average = 2.68

Diaphaniety: Transparent to translucent

Fracture: Brittle - Generally displayed by glasses and most non- bitownite
metallic minerals. labradorit

Habit: Massive - Granular - Common texture observed in
granite and other igneous rock.
oligoclase

Hardness: 6-6.5 - Orthoclase-Pyrite

Luminescence: Non-fluorescent.

Luster: Vitreous (Glassy)

Streak: white oligoclase

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Plagioklas

Twinning Twinning
Mechanisms: If several crystals are aligned by the same twin law
they are referred to as multiple twins. If these
Mechanisms:
1) Growth multiple twins are aligned in parallel they are called 1) Growth
polysynthetic twins
Feldspars: Feldspars:
Plagioclase: Triclinic Albite-law-striations Plagioclase: Triclinic Albite-law-striations

a-c a-c

b b

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Twinning Twinning
Mechanisms: Mechanisms:
2) Transformation (secondary twins) 2) Transformation (secondary) twins
Feldspars: K-Feldspars: high temperature Sanidine
Hi-T K-spar (monoclinic) Lo-T K-spar microcline (triclinic) (monoclinic) transforms to low temperature
microcline (triclinic).
a-c tartan twins combine
Monoclinic a-c Triclinic
(low-T) Albite and Pericline twins
(high-T)

b b

Twinning Mechanisms:
3) Deformation (secondary)
Mechanisms: Results from shear stress. Plagioclase
3) Deformation (secondary)
Results from shear stress
greater stress gliding, and finally rupture Also in
feldspars.
Looks like transformation, but the difference in
interpretation is tremendous

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Mechanisms:
3) Deformation (secondary)
Results from shear stress. Calcite
Michel-Levy Method

extinction angles in albite twinned
plagioclase are used to determine
composition

Albite twins have (010) as their
composition plane and are frequently
polysynthetic
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Determining Plagioclase
Composition Optically

The optical orientation of plagioclase varies
systematically with composition.

Consequently, extinction angles to
crystallographic features also vary
systematically with plagioclase composition.

There are two methods of determining
plagioclase composition from measured
extinction angles,

The Michel-Levy Method and

the Combined Carlsbad-Albite Method.
The procedure is very simple

First, find an albite twinned crystal with the (010) twin plane oriented perpendicular to
the plane of the microscope stage.
A properly oriented crystal can be identified by focussing on the twin plane under


high power and then racking the microscope slowly up and down.

If the twin plane is vertical, it will remain stationary as the stage is moved up and
down.

If it is inclined, it will appear to move from side to side as different parts of it come
into focus.

Having found a suitable crystal, rotate the twin plane to the N-S orientation.

Rotate the microscope stage counter clockwise until one set of albite twin lamallae
goes to extinction and note the angle of rotation.

Check that you have measured the angle to the fast ray by rotating the microscope
stage 45 degrees clockwise and inserting the accessory plate.

If you measured to the fast ray, the crystal will turn first order yellow.

Rotate twin plane back to the N-S orientation.

Rotate the microscope stage clockwise until one set of albite twin lamallae goes to
extinction and note the angle of rotation.

If the two angles are within 4 degrees of one another, calculate and record their
average.

Repeat the procedure on a number (6-10) of grains to determine the maximum
extinction angle.

Use the maximum extinction angle to determine the composition of the plagioclase
from the Michel-Levy composition chart (see example below)
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Michel-Levy Example

Michel-Levy Diagram

The picture above shows two views of an albite twinned plagioclase crystal.

In the left view, the microscope stage has been rotated counter clockwise until one set of albite twin
lamallae is extinct. The angle from the twin plane is 24.9 degrees.

The right picture shows the same crystal after it has been rotated clockwise to bring the other set of
albite twin lamallae to extinction. The extinction angle is 26.2 degrees.

The two extinction angles are within 2 degrees of one another, so they can be used for a Michel-Levy
plagioclase composition determination.

The average of the two angles (25.55 degrees) is used to determine the plagioclase composition from
the Michel-Levy extinction angle versus composition diagram at right.

Plotting this angle on that diagram (horizontal arrow), gives an intersection with one of the two curves.

If the plagioclase is in a plutonic igneous rock, the low temperature curve applies and the resulting
plagioclase composition is An-44.

If a volcanic rock, then the high temperature (dashed curve) would apply. The intersection of the
horizontal arrow with the high-T curve gives a plagioclase composition of approximately An-38.

Combined Carlsbad-Albite Method Kembaran albit

The picture at the left
shows a plagioclase
crystal contains a simple
Carlsbad twin (marked in
yellow). Each member of
the Carlsbad twin is also
polysynthetically twinned
by the albite law.

On the left-hand side of the Carlsbad twin, measure the extinction angles from the (010)
composition plane of the albite twins to the fast ray as described for the Michel-Levy
Method. Average the two extinction angles.

On the right-hand side of the Carlsbad twin, measure the extinction angles from the (010)
composition plane of the albite twins to the fast ray as described above for the Michel-
Levy Method. Average the two extinction angles.

The two averaged angles will not be the same (i.e., one angle will be larger than the
other). Using the appropriate Carlsbad-Albite composition chart (see page 275 in
Introduction to Optical Mineralogy, 2nd Ed. by W.D. Nesse) for low-temperature (plutonic
or metamorphic) plagioclase or high-temperature (volcanic) plagioclase, determine the
composition by finding the intersection of the solid line that corresponds to the larger
extinction angle and the dashed line that corresponds to the smaller extinction angle.

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Zoning
Some plagioclase feldspars will have
one composition in the interior of the
crystal, and a gradually or sharply
changing composition toward the
outer edge of the crystal
This is called zoning
There are several types of zoning

Large plagioclase phenokris in a lava:

Different orientation
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Zoning dalam Plagioklas

Normal Zoning; an An-rich core grading


continuously and smoothly to an Ab-rich rim.
Reverse Zoning; going outward from the core
the mineral becomes increasingly An-rich.

Oscillatory Zoning; fine-scale repetitive
oscillations in composition, ranging from 1-2 to
20-25 An mole %.

Discontinuous Zoning; a sequence of sharply
defined concentric zones (abrupt
discontinuities) with large compositional
changes (10-30 An mole %) going outward from
the core to the rim.

Sector Zoning; zoning localized at particular
crystallographic orientations with differences in
composition between sectors.

Patchy Zoning; zoning localized in several areas
of the mineral, with no preference for
crystallographic orientation.
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Plagioclase, unzoned, in a
hornblende diorite
Note the strong, parallel sets of
albite twins, and the less visible set
of pericline twins inclined almost
at right angles to the albite twins
Crossed nicols, 40x
Albite Twin
Photo
It is seen as numerous
individual twins, parallel
to each other, in thin
section
The twins may be wedge-
shaped (thicker at one
end) if the twinning results
from deformation
Carlsbad Twinning
Seen in either monoclinic or triclinic
feldspars
Carlsbad twins are growth twins (that is,
they form while the crystal is growing)
Carlsbad twinning is a type of
penetration twinning
Carlsbad twinning is common in igneous
rocks, but very rare in metamorphic
rocks
They are seen as a pair of individual
crystals, separated by a single line, in
thin section

Twin Combinations
It is also possible for crystals to exhibit
compound twinning in which two
twin laws are expressed
simultaneously

Carlsbad twins are seen as a pair of individual crystals,

separated by a single line, in thin section

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Carlsbad-Albite Albite-Pericline

The two halves of the Cross hatch twinning is

Carlsbad twin may
show albite twinning
The albite twins are
oriented parallel to the
Carlsbad twins
particularly common in
microcline because
microcline often forms
by transformation from
orthoclase
Cross hatch twinning is
also called "gridiron" or
tartan twinning

Pericline Twining
Seen only in triclinic feldspars
Pericline twinning is quite similar to albite
twinning
It may result from growth, deformation, or
transformation
It is a polysynthetic contact type of
twinning and shows a similar appearance
to albite twinning, although with a
different crystallographic orientation

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Albite oligoklas
andesin labradorit bytownit anortit

Soal:
Dengan menggunakan diagram diatas, tentukanlah jenis plagioklas berdasarkan
sudut gelapan dibawah ini:
a. 15.3 0 + 13.10
b. 68,10 + 70.70
c. 42.1 0 + 43.8