| Cinnabar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General | |
| Category | Mineral |
| Chemical formula | mercury(II) sulfide, HgS |
| Identification | |
| Color | Brownish-red |
| Crystal habit | Rhombohedral to tabular. A mineral is a naturally occurring substance formed through geological processes that has a characteristic chemical composition a highly ordered atomic structure and specific A chemical formula is a way of expressing information about the Atoms that constitute a particular Chemical compound, and how the relationship between those atoms changes In Mineralogy, shape and size give rise to descriptive terms applied to the typical appearance or habit of Crystals The many terms used by mineralogists Granular to massive |
| Crystal system | Hexagonal |
| Cleavage | Prismatic, perfect |
| Fracture | Uneven to subconchoidal |
| Mohs Scale hardness | 2-2. A crystal system is a category of Space groups which characterize Symmetry of structures in three dimensions with Translational symmetry in three directions Regular hexagon The internal Angles of a regular hexagon (one where all sides and all angles are equal are all 120 ° and the hexagon has 720 degrees Cleavage, in Mineralogy, is the tendency of crystalline materials to split along definite planes creating smooth surfaces of which there are several named types In the field of Mineralogy, fracture is a term used to describe the shape and texture of the surface formed when a Mineral is broken The Mohs scale of mineral hardness characterizes the scratch resistance of various Minerals through the ability of a harder material to scratch a softer material 5 |
| Luster | Adamantine to dull |
| Refractive index | 2. Lustre (or luster) is a description of the way light interacts with the surface of a Crystal, rock, or Mineral. The refractive index (or index of Refraction) of a medium is a measure for how much the speed of light (or other waves such as sound waves is reduced inside the medium 940-3. 220[1] |
| Streak | Scarlet |
| Specific gravity | 8 - 8. The streak (also called powder color) of a Mineral is the Color of the powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface Specific gravity is defined as the ratio of the Density of a given solid or liquid substance to the density of water at a specific temperature and pressure typically 2 g/cm³ |
| Solubility | 3×10-26 g per 100 ml water |
Cinnabar, sometimes written cinnabarite, is a name applied to red mercury(II) sulfide (HgS), or native vermilion, the common ore of mercury. Solubility is the characteristic Physical property referring to the ability of a given substance the Solute, to dissolve in a Solvent. Mercury sulfide, mercuric sulfide, or mercury(II sulfide is a chemical compound composed of the Chemical elements mercury and Sulfur Mercury (ˈmɜrkjʊri also called quicksilver or hydrargyrum, is a Chemical element with the symbol Hg ( Latinized hydrargyrum The term sulfide ( sulphide in British English) refers to several types of Chemical compounds containing Sulfur in its lowest Oxidation Vermilion, sometimes spelled vermillion, when found naturally-occurring is an opaque orangish Red Pigment, used since antiquity originally derived An ore is a volume of rock containing components or Minerals in a mode of occurrence that renders it valuable for mining The name comes from the Greek - "kinnabari" - used by Theophrastus, and was probably applied to several distinct substances. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Theophrastus ( Greek:; 371 – c 287 BC a Greek native of Eressos in Lesbos, was the successor of Aristotle in the Peripatetic Other sources say the word comes from the Persian zinjifrah, a word of uncertain origin. In Latin it was known as minium, meaning also "red lead" - a word probably borrowed from Iberian[2] (cf. The Iberian language was the language of a people identified by Greek and Roman sources who lived in the eastern and southeastern regions of the Iberian Basque armineá "cinnabar"). Basque ( native name: euskara) is the Language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain
Contents |
Structure
HgS adopts two structures, i. e. it is dimorphous. [3] The more stable form is cinnabar, which has a structure akin to that for HgO: each Hg center has two short Hg-S bonds (2. Mercury(II oxide, also called mercuric oxide, has a formula of Hg[[oxygen O]] and a formula weight of 216 36 Å), and four longer Hg---S contacts (3. The letter Å represents various sounds in the Swedish, Finnish (although no native Finnish words contain the letter å Danish, Norwegian 10, 3. 10, 3. 30, 3. 30 Å). The black form of HgS has the zinc blende structure. Sphalerite (( Zn, Fe) S) is a Mineral that is the chief Ore of Zinc.
Properties
Cinnabar is generally found in a massive, granular or earthy form and is bright scarlet to brick-red in color. It occasionally occurs, however, in crystals with a non-metallic adamantine luster. Cinnabar has a rombohedral bravais lattice, and belongs to the hexagonal crystal system, trigonal division. Its crystals grow usually in a massive habit, though they are sometimes twinned. The twinning in cinnabar is distinctive and forms a penetration twin that is ridged with six ridges surrounding the point of a pyramid. It could be thought of as two scalahedral crystals grown together with one crystal going the opposite way of the other crystal. The hardness of cinnabar is 2 - 2. The Mohs scale of mineral hardness characterizes the scratch resistance of various Minerals through the ability of a harder material to scratch a softer material 5, and its specific gravity 8. Specific gravity is defined as the ratio of the Density of a given solid or liquid substance to the density of water at a specific temperature and pressure typically 998.
Cinnabar resembles quartz in its symmetry and certain of its optical characteristics. Quartz (from German) is the most abundant Mineral in the Earth 's Continental crust (although Feldspar is more common in Like quartz, it exhibits birefringence. Birefringence, or double refraction, is the decomposition of a ray of Light into two rays (the ordinary ray and the extraordinary ray It has the highest refractive power of any mineral. Refraction is the change in direction of a Wave due to a change in its Speed. A mineral is a naturally occurring substance formed through geological processes that has a characteristic chemical composition a highly ordered atomic structure and specific Its mean index for sodium light is 3. The refractive index (or index of Refraction) of a medium is a measure for how much the speed of light (or other waves such as sound waves is reduced inside the medium Sodium (ˈsoʊdiəm is an element which has the symbol Na( Latin natrium, from Arabic natrun) atomic number 11 atomic mass 22 08[1], whereas the index for diamond—a substance of remarkable refraction— is 2. 42 and that for GaAs is 3. 93.
See List of indices of refraction.
Occurrence
Generally cinnabar occurs as a vein-filling mineral associated with recent volcanic activity and alkaline hot springs. A mineral is a naturally occurring substance formed through geological processes that has a characteristic chemical composition a highly ordered atomic structure and specific Plate tectonics and hotspots Divergent plate boundaries At the A hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated Groundwater from the earth's crust.
Cinnabar is found in all localities that yield mercury, notably Almadén (Spain); New Almaden (California); Hastings Mine and St. John's Mine, Vallejo, California;[4] Idrija (Slovenia); New Idria (California); Landsberg, near Obermoschel in the Palatinate; Ripa, at the foot of the Apuan Alps (Tuscany); the mountain Avala (Serbia); Huancavelica (Peru); Terlingua (Texas); and the province of Guizhou in China, where fine crystals have been obtained. Almadén, Spain, is a town and Municipality in the province of Ciudad Real, within the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The New Almaden Quicksilver Mine in Santa Clara County California is the oldest and most productive quicksilver (eg mercury mine in the United States California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. The Hastings Mine is a mineral extraction site approximately two miles northeast of the city of Vallejo, Solano County California. The St John's Mine is a mineral extraction site approximately three miles north of the city of Vallejo, Solano County California. Vallejo (vəˈleɪoʊ or /vəˈleɪhoʊ/ in English /baˈjeho/ in the original Spanish) is the largest city in Solano County Idrija (Italian Idria) is a small town and municipality with the same name in Slovenia. Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia (Republika Slovenija) is a Country in southern Central Europe bordering Italy to the west New Idria is an unincorporated town in San Benito County California. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. Obermoschel is a town in the district Donnersbergkreis, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz is one of the 16 federal states (German Bundesländer) of Germany. Tuscany (Toscana is a region in Italy. It has an area of 22990 km² and a population of about 3 Huancavelica ( Wankawillka in Quechua) is a city in Peru. It is the Capital of the Huancavelica region and has a Population Peru (Perú Piruw Piruw officially the Republic of Peru ( reˈpuβlika del peˈɾu is a country in western South America. Terlingua is a mining district in southwestern Brewster County, Texas, United States. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. ( also spelled Kweichow) is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National
Cinnabar is still being deposited at the present day from the hot waters of Sulphur Bank, in California, and Steamboat Springs, Nevada. Steamboat Springs is a small Volcanic field of Rhyolitic Lava domes and flows in western Nevada, USA, located south of Reno
Mining and extraction of mercury
Cinnabar was mined by the Roman Empire both as a pigment (Vitruvius, DA VII; IV-V) (Pliny, HN; XXXIII, XXXVI-XLII) and for its mercury content (Pliny HN; XXXIII, XLI), and it has been the main source of mercury throughout the centuries. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Some mines used by the Romans remain active today.
To produce liquid (quicksilver) mercury, crushed cinnabar ore is roasted in rotary furnaces. Pure mercury separates from sulfur in this process and easily evaporates. A condensing column is used to collect the liquid mercury, which is most often shipped in iron flasks.
Because of the high toxicity of mercury, both the mining of cinnabar and refining for mercury are hazardous and historic causes of mercury poisoning. Mercury poisoning (also known as mercurialism, hydrargyria, Hunter-Russell syndrome, or acrodynia when affecting children is a Disease In particular, the Romans used convict labor in their mines as a form of death sentence. The Spanish also used shorter term convict labor at the Almadén mines, with a 24% overall fatality rate in one 30 year period. Almadén, Spain, is a town and Municipality in the province of Ciudad Real, within the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha
Abandoned mercury mine processing sites often contain very hazardous waste piles of roasted cinnabar calcines. Water runoff from such sites is a recognized source of ecological damage.
Medicinal use
Much fuss is made about medicinal use of Cinnabar, however Cinnabar has been used over the ages medicinally in the East and the West and its side effects are long known.
It is known to be highly toxic[2] - perhaps the first record of this is in the Thoroughly Revised Materia Medica (1751) and later in the work Harm and Benefit in the Materia Medica (1893). Toxicity is the degree to which a substance is able to damage an exposed organism It is nevertheless used today (as is arsenic) to treat certain types of conditions with Western Medical Science translations approximating somewhere between "insomnia" and "depression". Arsenic (ˈɑrsənɪk is a Chemical element that has the symbol As and Atomic number of 33 It is not "using poison to cure poison", as some claim - such images should be viewed as curious observation, not an offering for a mechanism of operation.
Modern herbal extracts that contain cinnabar (zhū shā / 朱沙) should be that obtained after aqueous tituration to refine the Cinnabar (HgS) away from any Mercury Oxide (HgO), as it is the water- and gastric-soluble forms of Mercury which are responsible for its toxicity[5]. The result is called "Floating Cinnabar" (shuǐ fēi zhū shā / 水飛朱沙), as opposed to líng shā (靈沙 / lit. "divine sand") or the highly toxic chén shā (辰沙 or 陳沙; lit "Chen sand"). Chen (陳 was a minor state of the Spring and Autumn Period in Ancient China The Harm and Benefit in the Materia Medica notes:
". . . should be used unprepared. . . . If refined with fire it is toxic, and taking it has often been fatal. "
In Bensky, Clavey & Stöger's Materia Medica's entry for it, conveniently located at the beginning of the "Obsolete Substances" section, you will see this expressed in the modern language of chemistry:
". . . completely pure cinnabar (HgS), when heated in the presence of oxygen, turns into mercury oxide (HgO), which is soluble in diluted acids such as gastric acid. "
Decorative use
Cinnabar has been used for its color in the new world since the Olmec culture[6]. The Olmec were an ancient Pre-Columbian people living in the Tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in what are roughly the modern-day states Cinnabar was often used in royal burial chambers during the peak of Mayan civilization. The red stone was inserted into limestone sarcophagi, both as a decoration and, more importantly, to deter vandals and thieves with its well-known toxicity.
The most popularly known use of cinnabar is in Chinese carved lacquerware, a technique that apparently originated in the Song Dynasty[3]. Lacquerware is objects which are decoratively covered with Lacquer which is sometimes inlaid or carved The Song Dynasty ( Wade-Giles: Sung Ch'ao was a ruling dynasty in China between 960&ndash1279 CE it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms The danger of mercury poisoning may be reduced in ancient lacquerware by entraining the powdered pigment in lacquer[4], but could still pose an environmental hazard if the pieces were accidentally destroyed. In a general sense lacquer is a clear or coloured Varnish, that dries by solvent evaporation and often a curing process as well that produces a hard durable finish in any ' Environmental hazard' is a generic term for any situation or state of events which poses a threat to the surrounding environment In the modern jewelry industry, the toxic pigment is replaced by a resin-based polymer[5] that approximates the appearance of pigmented lacquer. A polymer is a large Molecule ( Macromolecule) composed of repeating Structural units typically connected by Covalent Chemical bonds
In the Byzantine Empire, the Emperor and certain privileged bishops (such as the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Archbishop of Cyprus) were allowed the exclusive right of signing their names with ink colored vermilion by the addition of cinnabar. An emperor (from the Latin " Imperator " is a (male Monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an Empire or another type of A privilege &mdashetymologically "private law" or law relating to a specific individual&mdashis a special Entitlement or immunity granted by a government A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight "Patriarch of Constantinople" redirects here For the institutional church itself see Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. This is a list of Archbishops of the Autocephalous Greek Cypriot Orthodox Church since its foundation with known dates of Enthronement: St Vermilion, sometimes spelled vermillion, when found naturally-occurring is an opaque orangish Red Pigment, used since antiquity originally derived
Other forms of cinnabar
- Hepatic cinnabar is an impure variety from the mines of Idrija in the Carniola region of Slovenia, in which the cinnabar is mixed with bituminous and earthy matter. Idrija (Italian Idria) is a small town and municipality with the same name in Slovenia. Carniola (Kranjska Krain is a traditional and historical region of Slovenia. Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia (Republika Slovenija) is a Country in southern Central Europe bordering Italy to the west Bitumen is a mixture of organic Liquids that are highly Viscous, black sticky entirely soluble in Carbon disulfide, and composed primarily
- Metacinnabarite is a black-colored form of HgS, which crystallizes in the cubic form.
- Synthetic cinnabar is produced by treatment of Hg(II) salts with hydrogen sulfide to precipitate black, synthetic metacinnabarite, which is then heated in water. Hydrogen sulfide (or hydrogen sulphide) is the Chemical compound with the formula H 2 S. This conversion is promoted by the presence of sodium sulfide. Sodium sulfide is the name used to refer to the Chemical compound Na2S but more commonly its hydrate [7]
- Hypercinnabar, crystallise in the hexagonal form.
References
- ^ a b Schumann, Walter (1997). Gemstones of the World. Sterling. ISBN 0806994614.
- ^ OED "minium".
- ^ Wells, A. F. (1984). Structural Inorganic Chemistry, Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-855370-6.
- ^ C. Michael Hogan, Marc Papineau et al. , Environmental Assessment of the columbus Parkway Widening between Ascot Parkway and the Northgate Development, Vallejo, Earth Metrics Inc. An ( EIA) is an assessment of the possible impact&ndashpositive or negative&ndashthat a proposed project may have on the Natural environment. Report 7853, California State Clearinghouse, Sept, 1989
- ^ Bensky, Dan; Clavey, Steven & Stöger, Erich (2004), Materia Medica: 3rd Edition, Eastland Press, pp. 1045-1047, ISBN 0-939616-4-24
- ^ New World's Oldest, in Time Magazine, Monday, Jul. 29, 1957[1]
- ^ Holleman, A. F. ; Wiberg, E. "Inorganic Chemistry" Academic Press: San Diego, 2001. ISBN 0-12-352651-5.
External links
See also
Vermilion, sometimes spelled vermillion, when found naturally-occurring is an opaque orangish Red Pigment, used since antiquity originally derived This is a List of Minerals for which there are Wikipedia articlesDictionary
cinnabar
-noun
- A deep red mineral, mercuric sulfide, HgS; the principal ore of mercury; such ore used as the pigment vermilion
- (color) a bright red colour tinted with orange.
-adjective
- (color) of a bright red colour tinted with orange.
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic