earth science

Sonolite

Sonolite 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 Sonolite rather than just read about it. In short: Sonolite is a mineral with formula Mn9(SiO4)4(OH,F)2. The mineral was discovered in 1960 in the Sono mine in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan.

Key takeaways

Sonolite 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 Sonolite to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Sonolite from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sonolite is a mineral with formula Mn9(SiO4)4(OH,F)2. The mineral was discovered in 1960 in the Sono mine in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. In 1963, it was identified as a new mineral and named after the Sono mine.

Description Sonolite is transparent to translucent and is red-orange, pinkish brown to dark brown in color and colorless in thin sections. The mineral has a granular habit or occurs as prismatic to anhedral crystals up to 2.5 cm (0.98 in). Sonolite is the manganese analogue of clinohumite, a dimorph of jerrygibbsite, and a member of the humite group. The mineral occurs in metamorphosed manganese-rich deposits. Sonolite has been found in association with calcite, chlorite, franklinite, galaxite, manganosite, pyrochroite, rhodochrosite, tephroite, willemite, and zincite.

History In 1960, Mayumi Yoshinaga was investigating alleghanyite and other manganese orthosilicates in Japan. He discovered a dull, red-brown mineral on the first level ore body of the Sono Mine, and later from a number of other sites. Using samples from ten locations in Japan and one in Taiwan, the mineral was described in 1963 and identified as a new mineral species. It was named sonolite after the mine in which it was first found and the name was approved by the International Mineralogical Association.

Distribution As of 2012, sonolite has been found in Austria, France, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United States. The type material is held at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US.

References

Bibliography Yoshinaga, Mayumi (January 25, 1963). "Sonolite, a New Manganese Silicate Mineral" (PDF). Memoirs of the Faculty of Science, Kyushu University. 14 (1): 1–21. Retrieved June 20, 2012.

Further reading Cook, David (September–October 1969). "Sonolite, Alleghanyite and Leucophoenicite from New Jersey" (PDF). American Mineralogist. 54 (9 & 10): 1392–1398.

External links Media related to Sonolite at Wikimedia Commons

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sonolite

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sonolite 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 Sonolite 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 Sonolite 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 Sonolite

In research: Sonolite 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 Sonolite 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: Sonolite is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Fluorine minerals, Hydroxide minerals, Manganese(II) minerals, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sonolite 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.

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How to study Sonolite in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sonolite 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 Sonolite out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sonolite in simple terms?

Sonolite is a mineral with formula Mn9(SiO4)4(OH,F)2. The mineral was discovered in 1960 in the Sono mine in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan.

Why does Sonolite 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 Sonolite?

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 Sonolite.