How Silicates Break
| When silica tetrahedra
share an oxygen, the resulting COVALENT
BOND
is very strong. Consequently, when a mineral is broken it will tend to
break other, weaker bonds, leaving the structure of the tetrahedra
intact.
In this way, the structure of the tetrahedra is the main control on the strength of the mineral and the way that it breaks. Let's examine two different silicate architecture, double-chain silicates and sheet silicates, and discover how their structure controls one of their basic properties, how they break... |
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How Double-Chain Silicates Break |
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How Sheet Silicates Break |
