Definition

Noun: A white, gray, or pale brown mineral, typically occurring as bladed crystals or masses in metamorphosed limestone. It is a calcium silicate (CaSiO₃).

Usage

"Wollastonite" is a specific geological term used to name a mineral species. It is primarily used in scientific, industrial, and geological contexts. * The presence of wollastonite indicates that the limestone underwent high-temperature metamorphism. * This ceramic glaze recipe includes a small percentage of wollastonite to improve its durability.

Examples

• Geologists identified veins of wollastonite within the marble quarry.
• Wollastonite is mined for use as a filler in plastics, paints, and ceramics.
• Under the microscope, the wollastonite crystals exhibited a characteristic acicular (needle-like) habit.

Advanced Usage

• Industrial Mineral: In commerce, wollastonite is valued for its brightness, high pH, and needle-like particle shape, which can reinforce materials.
• Geothermobarometer: In petrology, the stability and formation of wollastonite can be used to estimate the pressure and temperature conditions during rock metamorphism.

Variants and Related Words

• Wollastonite Group: A group of silicate minerals with similar structures, including pectolite and bustamite.
• Calcium Silicate: The chemical compound (CaSiO₃) that constitutes wollastonite. This term is also used for synthetic materials with similar compositions.

Synonyms

• There are no direct common-language synonyms for this specific mineral name. In very broad chemical terms, it can be described as a calcium silicate mineral.

Related Phrases

• To contain wollastonite: Describing a rock that has this mineral as a component.
  • The skarn deposit is known to contain wollastonite alongside garnet and diopside.

Notes on Different Meanings

"Wollastonite" has only one primary meaning as the name of a specific mineral. It does not have idiomatic or figurative uses.

Noun

1. a white or greyish mineral typically found in metamorphic limestone; a silicate of calcium