GEOL 121 MINERALOGY LEC

HOMEWORK
CRYSTAL INTERGROWTHS

Name : Jessiah B. Paña ID Number : 2018-00819 Section : Geo1-2

Concepts Related to Mineralogy

1. Parallel Growth

Parallel growth occurs when aggregate of crystals of the same substance grow adjacent to one another,
making their crystallographic axes and faces parallel. These aggregates only constitute a single crystal and may
resemble crystal twinning.

2. Epitaxis

Epitaxis is a process that occurs when the growth of a crystal of a particular orientation on top of another
crystal (different substance) is controlled by the underlying crystal.

3. Twins / Twinned Crystals

Twins or twinned crystals occur during a symmetrical intergrowth of two or more crystals of the same
substance according to some definite law. The parts of a twin crystal are related to each other, either as if one part
appears to form by the following: reflection across a mirror plane (twin plane); a rotation of 180° about a common
direction (twin axis); and inversion about a point (twin center).

4. Contact Twins

Contact twins occur when two crystals of the same substance have a definite (planar) composition plane. A
composition plane is a plane on which two individuals are united or where the lattice points among twinned crystals
are shared. If the composition plane is a surface, it is termed as a composition surface. Contact twins are usually
defined by a law that expresses a twin plane.

5. Penetration Twins

Penetration twins have an indefinite (irregular) composition surface and are made up of interpenetrating
individuals. Penetration twins are defined by crystals that often share the center of their axial systems.
 GEOL 121 MINERALOGY LEC
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CRYSTAL INTERGROWTHS

6. Polysynthetic Twins

Polysynthetic twins are a type of repeated or multiple twins. Repeated twins occur when three or more parts
the crystal are twinned according to the same law. And, when these successive composition planes manifest in a
parallel manner, the resulting group is a polysynthetic twin.

7. Cyclic Twins

Another type of a repeated twin is a cyclic twin. Unlike polysynthetic twins, cyclic twins occur when the
successive composition planes are not parallel.

Common Twin Laws

8. Albite Law

Albite twinning is exhibited by crystals under the triclinic system. The Albite
Law indicates that a twinning occurs perpendicular to the b crystallographic axis
(parallel to the mirror plane). This twinning is repeated to give a series of fine lamellae
(polysynthetic twinning) which appear as striations in hand specimen. Plagioclase is
the most common mineral that shows albite polysynthetic twinning.

9. Pericline Law

The Pericline Law is exihibited by crystals under the triclinic system.

This twinning occurs at the b crystallographic axis and results in lathlike
individuals which may resemble albite twins, where the composition surface
is a rhombic section. The mineral microcline exhibits this type of twinning.

10. Swallow Tail Twin

Swallow tail twins are shown by crystals under the monoclinic system. It illustrates a
twinning with the plane {100}, an orthopinacoid. This type of twinning is commonly observed
in gypsum.
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CRYSTAL INTERGROWTHS

11. Manebach Law

The Manebach Law is exhibited by crystals under the monoclinic system. This
twinning forms a contact twin along the plane {001}, a basal pinacoid. This twinning is
commonly shown in orthoclase.

12. Braveno Law

The Braveno Law is exhibited by crystals under the monoclinic system. This
twinning forms a contact twin along the plane {021}, a clinodome. The mineral
orthoclase commonly shows this type of twinning.

13. Carlsbad Law

The Carlsbad Law is exhibited by crystals under the monoclinic system. This
twinning occurs when interpenetration happens where one part is rotated about 180°
from the other, having the c axis as the twin axis. This type of twinning commonly occurs
in orthoclase.

14. Staurolite Law

The Staurolite Law is exhibited by

crystals under the orthorhombic system. In
this type of twinning, two interpenetration
twins occur: (1) twins form a right-angled
cross at the plane {031} and (2) twins form a
cross at about 60° at the plane {231}. The
mineral staurolite manifests this type of
twinning.
 GEOL 121 MINERALOGY LEC
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CRYSTAL INTERGROWTHS

15. Dauphiné Law

The Dauphiné Law is exhibited by crystals under the trigonal

trapezohedral class of the hexagonal system. This type of twinning is a
penetration twin with the c axis, [0001], as the twin axis. It is a result of
transformation, wherein a preexisting crystals undergoes transformation due to a
change in pressure or temperature. This twinning commonly occurs in the mineral
quartz.

16. Japanese Law

The Japanese Law is exhibited by crystals under the trigonal

trapezohedral class of the hexagonal system. This type of twinning is a contact
twin, with the twin plane parallel to a face of a dipyramid, and results from
accidents during growth. The Japanese twinning is commonly demonstrated by
quartz.

17. Spinel Law

The Spinel Law is exhibited by crystals under the hexoctahedral class of

the isometric system. This type of twinning occurs when a twin plane is parallel to
an octahedron, forming a contact twin. This commonly occurs in the mineral spinel.

18. Iron Cross Twin

Iron cross twinning is exhibited by crystals under the diploidal class of the
isometric system. This type of twinning occurs when two pyritohedrons are
interpenetrating each other with a 90° rotation about the twin axis [001]. This is
commonly observed in the mineral pyrite.
 GEOL 121 MINERALOGY LEC
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CRYSTAL INTERGROWTHS

19. Calcite Twin

Calcite twinning is exhibited by crystals under the hexagonal system. There are two common twin laws
observed in these crystals: (1) a twin plane parallel to the basal pinacoid, with c axis as the twin axis and (2) a plane
parallel to a face of the negative rhombohedron which serves as the twin plane, where polysynthetic twinning may
occur due to pressure. The mineral calcite commonly shows this type of twinning.

20. Brazil Twin

Brazil twinning is exhibited by crystals under the trigonal trapezohedral class of

the hexagonal system. This type of twinning occurs when a twin plane is parallel to a
face of the second-order prism, where right- and left-hand individuals have formed a
penetration twin. This is commonly observed in the mineral quartz.

References

Hurlbut., C. S., Jr. (1944). Dana's manual of mineralogy (15th ed.). New York City, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Klein, C., & Hurlbut, C. S., Jr. (1993). The 22nd edition of the manual of mineral science (after James D. Dana). New
York City, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Nelson, S. A. (2019). Twinning, polymorphism, polytypism, pseudomorphism. Retrieved February 20, 2019, from
https://www.tulane.edu/~sanelson/eens211/twinning.htm