For gigapans and thin section images, please see the olivine page.
Physical Properties |
|
| Chemical formula | Fe2SiO4 |
| Class | Nesosilicate Isolated tetrahedra |
| Crystal system | Orthorhombic |
| Habit | Granular Prisms Dipyramids Tabular Crystals large enough to display a distinct habit are rare. Fayalite is more commonly found as small, rounded or embedded grains. |
| Color | Green to yellow |
| Hardness | 6.5 |
| Specific gravity | 4.4 |
| Cleavage | Poor (010) and (100) |
| Fracture | Conchoidal |
| Luster | Vitreous |
| Transparency | Transparent to translucent |
| Streak | White-yellow |
Optical Properties |
|
| PPL | High relief Fractured appearance Pale yellow or green May be weakly pleochroic |
| XPL | High relief High 3rd order colors Fractures and high birefringence combine to make a “stained glass” appearance |
| δ | 0.053 |
| after Perkins, 341-342 |