Brown Apatite Phosphate Mineral – Pack of 2
by American Educational Products

Its tendency to be often mistaken for other minerals is where Apatite got its name. It is derived from the Greek word apatein, which translates to “to deceive” or “to be misleading”. It can be seen in wide range of colors, such as yellows, blues, violets, pinks, and browns. If green, it tends to be transparent or translucent, and can on rare occasions, be found to be colorless.

Apatite is considered to be the defining mineral for a rating of 5 on the Mohs scale of hardness, which puts it firmly in the middle of the 1-10 scale. One of Apatites other forms is hydroxylapatite, which is a major component of both tooth enamel and bone mineral.

Probably the most interesting use of apatite is that the appearance of fission tracks, which arise from the spontaneous fission of uranium-238 within the mineral. Those tracks can be used to achieve a measure of the thermal history of orogenic belts, also known as Fold mountains, which develop one or more continental plates crumples and is pushed upwards, forming a mountain range. Apatite also plays a role in another method, called uranium-thorium/helium dating, which can be used in applications such as paleo-wildfire dating.

Each rock or mineral specimen measures approximately 1-2 inches in length along its longest side.

Origin: UT