Minerals are naturally occurring crystalline compounds. Other naturally occurring substances lack long-range atomic order; they are the mineraloids. They are optically isotropic and they do not diffract X-rays. They range from gem material such as amber and opal to fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum. They may be of biotic—e.g., chitinous shells—or abiotic—e.g., obsidian—origin.
For convenience they may be divided into two groups—an inorganic group lacking carbon (Table 1) and an organic group containing essential carbon (Table 2). Water, a naturally occurring inorganic compound, may be considered the melt of the mineral ice and is not treated here. Native mercury, although a liquid at room temperature, is considered to be a mineral because it crystallizes at -38.9°C, a temperature attained in terrestrial environments.
Inorganic Mineraloids
PrecipitatesAllophane (q.v.in Vol. IVB) is a hydrous aluminum silicate with a variable silica: alumina ratio and water content that may...
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Frye, K. (1988). Mineraloids . In: General Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30844-X_78
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