Constituent
Name
Gehlenite
IMA name
Gehlenite
Class
silicate mineral
Compound type
sorosilicate
Relevance
main - major
Arrangement
single phase
Mass fraction
1.0
Formula
$Ca_2Al(AlSi)O_7$
Chemical formula
Ca2Al(AlSi)O7
Elemental formula
Ca2.007 Al2.024 Si0.977 O7 Na0.001 Fe0.001
Isotope mixture type
terrestrial abundance
  Formula Name Family Number min-max Isotope mole fraction State Relevance
$Ca$ Calcium element 2.007 1.0 constituent element main
$Al$ Aluminium element 2.024 1.0 constituent element main
$Si$ Silicon element 0.977 1.0 constituent element main
$O$ Oxygen element 7 1.0 constituent element main
$Na$ Sodium element 0.001 1.0 constituent element replacement
$Fe$ Iron element 0.001 1.0 constituent element replacement
Chemical bonds
  Bond Number
$ >Al-O-$ 6
$\geq Si-O-$ 4
$\cdot Ca^{2+} \cdot O^{-}-$ 4
Oxides
Formula $Na_{2}O$ $FeO$ $SiO_{2}$ $CaO$ $Al_{2}O_{3}$
Mass fraction (%) 0.01 0.02 21.47 41.15 37.73

Strunz

Class
silicates (09)
Division
sorosilicate (09.B)
Family
Si2O7 groups, without non-tetrahedral anions; cations in tetrahedral [4] and greater coordination (09.BB)
Code
09.BB.10

Dana

Major class
silicates (VIII)
Class
sorosilicate Si2O7 groups, generally with no additional anions (55)
Type
with cations in [8] and lower coordination (55.04)
Group
Melilite group (55.04.01)
Code
55.04.01.02
Phase type
crystalline
Crystal system
tetragonal
Crystal class
scalenohedral
Crystal class symbol
-42m (D2d)
Crystal spacegroup
P-42(1)m
Molar mass
274.58 $g/mol$
Density
2.9 - 3.07 $g/cm^3$
Refringence type
uniaxial
Refringence sign
negative
Birefringence
0.0100
Refraction index $n_{\alpha}$
1.67
Refraction index $n_{\beta}$
1.66
Color
brown, colorless, greenish, gray, yellow
Diaphaneity
transparent to translucent
Luster
vitreous