Orthoserpierite

The place where the mineral was first found and described — by convention, the reference point for the species.

The hue of the mineral itself. Often unreliable for identification — many species occur in several colours depending on trace impurities or radiation damage.

The colour of a mineral's powder, drawn by scraping it across an unglazed porcelain plate. Far more consistent than surface colour.

The shape of a broken surface that doesn't follow cleavage — conchoidal (curved, like broken glass), uneven, hackly, or splintery.

Mass per unit volume, in grams per cubic centimetre. A useful sorting tool: barite is twice as dense as quartz at the same size.

Whether the mineral is isotropic (light travels at one speed in all directions, like in glass) or anisotropic — uniaxial or biaxial. Defines which optical tests apply.

How much light bends as it enters the mineral. Higher index means stronger bending — diamond's extreme index is why it sparkles.

How sharply a grain stands out against the mounting medium (Canada balsam, n ≈ 1.54) under the petrographic microscope. Low relief means the grain almost dissolves into the slide; very high relief gives crisp, almost three-dimensional outlines.

The refractive indices measured along the crystal's principal optical axes — nω and nε for uniaxial minerals, nα, nβ, and nγ for biaxial.

A change of colour as a coloured anisotropic mineral is rotated under plane-polarised light. Tourmaline and cordierite are textbook examples.

How strongly the refractive indices vary across the visible spectrum. Strong dispersion gives gemstones their 'fire'.

The orientation, relative to crystal edges, at which a thin section goes dark between crossed polarisers. Used to separate look-alike species.

How the mineral glows under short- and long-wave ultraviolet lamps. Some species fluoresce in spectacular colours invisible to the naked eye.

One of seven geometric families that describe a mineral's atomic symmetry: isometric (cubic), tetragonal, hexagonal, trigonal, orthorhombic, monoclinic, triclinic. Two non-crystalline classes — amorphous and icosahedral — also appear.

The full symmetry description of a crystal's repeating atomic pattern — 230 distinct groups, written in Hermann–Mauguin notation (e.g. P6₃/mmc).

The lengths of the unit-cell edges (a, b, c) in ångströms — the smallest repeating box of atoms that builds the crystal.

Edge-length ratios of the unit cell, normalised so b = 1. Lets you compare related species without quoting absolute ångström values.

The number of formula units contained in a single unit cell.

The overall shape and habit a mineral tends to grow into — cubes, prisms, plates, fibres, druses, masses.

The crystal habit observed at the type locality — the place where the mineral was first described.

Chemical elements that make up the mineral's ideal formula, listed by atomic symbol with their share of the total mass.