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Kaolinite Wikipedia

Image:KaolinUSGOV.jpg|thumb|Kaolin
Image:KaoliniteUSGOV.jpg|thumb|Kaolinite (Aluminium Silicate Hydroxide)
Kaolinite is a mineral with the chemical composition Aluminium|Al₂Silicon|Si₂Oxygen|O₅(hydroxide|OH)₄. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedron|tetrahedral sheet linked through oxygen molecules to one octahedron|octahedral sheet of alumina octahedra. It is also known as china (pottery)|china clay and kaolin (高嶺土 in pinyin: gao1 ling3 tu3), named after Gaoling ("High Hill"), Jingde Town, Jiangxi, China.

It is a soft, earthy, usually white mineral (dioctahedral phyllosilicate clay), produced by the chemical weathering of feldspar. In many parts of the world, it is colored pink-orange-red by iron oxide, giving it a distinct rust hue. Lighter concentrations yield a yellow or light orange colour. Alternating layers are sometimes found, as at Providence Canyon State Park in Georgia (state)|Georgia, United States|USA.

Kaolinite is one of the most common minerals, it is mined in France, United Kingdom|Britain, Germany, Japan (Amakusa), China, and the southeastern U.S. states of Georgia, Florida, and, to a lesser extent, South Carolina. Due to its extremely fine nature (finer than silt), it is mixed with water and transported in tanks as a liquid slurry. It is used in ceramics, medicine, bricks, paper, as a food additive, in toothpaste, and in cosmetics. A recent use is as a specially formulated spray applied to fruits, vegetables, and other vegetation to repel or deter insect damage. A traditional use is to soothe an upset stomach, similar to the way parrots (and later, humans) in South America originally use it.

The crystallography of kaolinite played a role in Linus Carl Pauling|Linus Pauling's work on the nature of the chemical bond.

Last Modified:   2005-04-13