Macle
Term used in crystallography
Macle is a term used in crystallography. It is a crystalline form, twin-crystal or double crystal (such as chiastolite). It is crystallographic twin according to the spinel twin law and is seen in octahedral crystals or minerals such as diamond and spinel. The twin law name comes from the fact that is commonly observed in the mineral spinel. A version with five units about a common axis is called a fiveling.
Macle is an old French word, a heraldic term for a voided lozenge (one diamond shape within another). Etymologically the word is derived from the Latin macula meaning spot, mesh, or hole.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Macle”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Pyrite 60608.jpg by Vassil, Public domain
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