earth science

Suessite

Suessite 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 Suessite rather than just read about it. In short: Suessite is a rare iron silicide mineral with chemical formula: Fe3Si. The mineral was named after Professor Hans E.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Suessite is a rare iron silicide mineral with chemical formula: Fe3Si. The mineral was named after Professor Hans E. Suess. It was discovered in 1982 during the chemical analysis of The North Haig olivine pigeonite achondrite (ureilite). It is a cream white color in reflected light, and ranges in size from 1 μm "blebs" to elongated grains that can reach up to 0.45 cm in length. This mineral belongs in the isometric crystal class. The isometric class has crystallographic axes that are all the same length and each of the three axes perpendicular to the other two. It is isotropic, has a structural type of DO3 and a crystal lattice of BiF3.

Optical properties Suessite is an isotropic mineral, Isotropism is defined as an optical property of a mineral that stays the same from whatever direction it is observed. In thin-section microscopy, an isotropic mineral has only one refractive index. This means that light that passes through the mineral is not split into two different directions, but it passes through unchanged. Suessite, as determined from the previous definition, only has one index of refraction. When Keil, Fuchs, and Berkley first discovered the mineral they described it as having a relatively low optical relief, but there was no determination of the index of refraction. In plane polarized light, suessite is a reddish-brown color that shows no pleochroism.

Importance "Suessite can form under highly reducing conditions" say the scientists who discovered this mineral. Only one out of eight ureilites studied (the North Haig ureilite) by this group contained suessite. Most contained trace amounts of kamacite which is the mineral from which Suessite is formed. In this particular study, the meteorite that contained suessite contained the highest amounts of shock metamorphism, which can be determined from the size of a shatter cone created from the impact. This could mean that suessite is formed due to the extreme increase in temperature combined with reduction of silicate rims, shortly followed by a rapid decrease in temperature. This means that, in meteorites, the abundance of suessite can be used to identify deformation associated with shock metamorphism, which could be used to determine various characteristics of the studied meteorites.

Other iron silicide minerals The other natural iron silicides include gupeiite (Fe3Si), hapkeite (Fe2Si), linzhiite (FeSi2), luobusaite (Fe0.84Si2), naquite (FeSi), xifengite (Fe5Si3), and zangboite (TiFeSi2).

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Suessite

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

In research: Suessite 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 Suessite 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: Suessite is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Cubic minerals, Ferromagnetic materials, Iron minerals, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Suessite 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 Suessite in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Suessite in simple terms?

Suessite is a rare iron silicide mineral with chemical formula: Fe3Si. The mineral was named after Professor Hans E.

Why does Suessite 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 Suessite?

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 Suessite.