Yet another mineral – Today: Baryte

Baryte

• named after the greek word for heavy (the density is relatively high
  with 4.5 g/cm³)
• Formula: BaSO₄
• Space group: Pnma (No. 62)
• Crystal system: orthorhombic
• Crystal class: mmm
• Lattice parameters: a = 8.88 Å, b = 5.46 Å, c = 7.16 Å, α = β = γ =  90°

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Picture: Carlesmillan – CC BY-SA 3.0

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Crystal structure (click on the picture to download the VESTA file):

slightly distorted SO₄^2- tetrahedra (yellow), Ba²⁺ ions (green), which are surrounded by 12 oxygen atoms

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