Description
Pyrite, or iron pyrite, is a mineral with the formula FeS2 (chemical name: iron disulfide). It is an important ore of iron and sulfur. It often forms well-formed (euhedral) crystals in the shape of a cube with characteristic striations and a golden sheen. It is also called tinsel or fool's gold (from the English word "fool's gold") because it was sometimes mistaken for gold. The name "cat's gold" is also sometimes incorrectly used, but this refers to yellow mica or resin. Because pyrite is abundant, it can create the illusion of great wealth. However, pyrite is not very valuable (although it can be sold). It is found with other sulfur-bearing minerals, but also with oxides, in quartz veins, in sedimentary rocks in coal beds, and as a replacement mineral in fossils. Pyrite is a disulfide with sulfur pairs (S2)2- and Fe2+ ions in an octahedral environment in a t2g6 low-spin state. Because both ions have a closed configuration, it is a diamagnetic semiconductor. Weathering of pyrite produces iron (hydr)oxides, which also release sulfuric acid. This acid can then react with other minerals, leading to the formation of minerals such as gypsum, alunite, and jarosite. A major source of pyrite is the island of Elba. The name pyrite is very old, derived from the old Indo-European word pyr (fire, cf., for example, pyrotechnics for fireworks art), or the English word pyre (burning pyre), because one could make sparks by striking pyrite against flint or iron. Today, we understand flint to mean something completely different (a specific form of SiO2). Other names one may encounter for pyrite are ferrous sulfide, ferrous sulfide, and the less common words ironblende and iron oxide. Pyrite was once sold as imitation gold because of its golden sheen. However, the sheen changes when the surface is tilted, while gold's sheen remains the same. Pyrite is also angular, with sharp edges, and hard, while gold is round and soft.
Gemstone therapy Pyrite
Pyrite
