Feldspar

Moon stone

Feldspar was collected by Apollo 16 from the Lunar Highlands near Descartes Crater. This sample is currently on display at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. Feldspar is the name of a very important group of rock-forming minerals that make up perhaps as much as 65% of the Earth's crust. Feldspars crystallize from magma in the both intrusive and the extrusive rocks; they occur as compact minerals, as veins, and are normally present in many types of metamorphic rock. Rock formed entirely of plagioclase feldspar (see below) is called as anorthosite. Feldspars are also found in most types of sedimentary rock.

Feldspar is derived from the German Fled, field, and Spat, a rock that do not contain ore. Feldspathic refers to materials that contain feldspar

Uses

• Feldspar is an ingredient in Bon Ami brand household cleaner.
• Feldspar is a component of a ceramics.
• In making the body composition of several types of porcelain, china and earthenware and also in the preparation of glazes and the enamel.
• It is an important ingredient in the glass sand batch.
• As a bonding agent in the manufacture of bonded abrasives like wheels and discs of garnet, corundum, emery etc.