earth science

Neighborite

Neighborite is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Neighborite rather than just read about it. In short: Neighborite is a mineral composed of a double fluoride salt of sodium and magnesium. It was initially recognized as pink and brown masses of round grains in the Green River Formation South of Ouray, Utah.

Key takeaways

Neighborite belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Neighborite to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Neighborite from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Neighborite is a mineral composed of a double fluoride salt of sodium and magnesium. It was initially recognized as pink and brown masses of round grains in the Green River Formation South of Ouray, Utah. Originally found in dark dolomitic oil shales, neighborite typically forms as subrounded or octahedral crystals. Neighborite received its name from Frank Neighbor, a geologist for the Sun Oil Co. based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Due to Mr. Neighbor's work in discovering neighborite, along with other newly discovered minerals to the Green River Formation, the mineral was named after him. Neighborite is in the family of perovskite crystal structure minerals, possessing a general formula of ABX3.

Occurrence Neighborite is found in association with minerals such as burbankite, nahcolite, wurtzite, barytocalcite, garrelsite, pyrite, calcite, and quartz. The mineral most commonly occurs on top of dark colored dolomitic oil shales. The resulting grains are subrounded in shape. Some neighborite crystals form as inclusions in barytocalcite. Octahedral crystals of neighborite exist in nature, but is generally uncommon relative to the subangular crystals. Neighborite is a rare mineral, only being found in select localities around the world. Regions where neighborite is currently found include select wells in or near Ouray, Utah; Montreal, Quebec; Oslo, Norway; Murmansk Oblast, Russia; Arusha, Tanzania.

Physical properties Neighborite is a colorless or pink to brown colored mineral exhibiting a vitreous luster. It exhibits a hardness of 4.5 on the Mohs hardness scale. It does not portray any specific cleavage planes, but instead exhibits an uneven fracture. Neighborite is insoluble in distilled water, but dissolves at a quicker rate with increased acidic conditions.

Optical properties Neighborite is an anisotropic mineral, meaning it has more than one refractive index. However, the birefringence of the mineral is rather low, at 0.003. The measured refractive indexes are 1.364±0.002. The octahedral {111} crystals of neighborite occasionally exhibit twinning. {100} cubic faces also exist as truncations.

Chemical properties Neighborite belongs to the perovskite family of minerals. These minerals have a general formula of ABX3. The structure consists of B atoms in an octahedron, with A and X atoms forming the cubic and octahedral cells of the structure, respectively. Perovskites are most notably used as solar cells, achieving a general efficiency of around 25%.

Chemical composition

X-ray crystallography Neighborite is an orthorhombic mineral, containing the space group Pcmn. The unit cell dimensions are a=5.363 Å, b=7.676 Å, c=5.503 Å, α=90.00°, β=90.00°, γ=90.00°. The dimensions of neighborite are extremely similar to those of a basic perovskite structure. It is therefore considered part of the perovskite supergroup of minerals. As higher temperatures are achieved, the three axes lengths of neighborite get closer together. At 900°C, the axes lengths are equal, giving neighborite a cubic cell. However, this cubic structure cannot be quenched, and can only exist at the high temperature range.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Neighborite

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Neighborite claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Neighborite before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Neighborite ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Neighborite

In research: Neighborite appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Neighborite in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Neighborite is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Fluorine minerals, Minerals in space group 47, Orthorhombic minerals, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Neighborite outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Neighborite in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Neighborite means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Neighborite out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Neighborite in simple terms?

Why does Neighborite matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Neighborite?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Neighborite.