Mirabilite
Mineral Na2SO4·10H2O
Also called Glauber's salt
Take care.
- Damaged by water: Keep it dry: don't wash it, and keep it out of damp places.
- Breaks down in damp air: Keep it dry and in steady humidity; some crumble or rot as they take on moisture.
- Sensitive to heat: Keep it away from heat and sudden changes of temperature, including hot lights and ultrasonic cleaners.
About it
Natural Glauber's salt: clear crystals and crusts from cold salt lakes and springs. In dry air it soon loses its water and falls to a white powder of thenardite, and it melts in its own water on a warm day.
- Type
- Mineral
- Group
- Sulfate, hydrated sodium sulfate
- Formula
- Na2SO4·10H2O
- Hardness (Mohs)
- 1.5–2
- Specific gravity
- 1.46–1.49
- Streak
- white
- Lustre
- vitreous (glassy)
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Colours
- colourless, white
- Transparency
- transparent, translucent
- Cleavage and fracture
- perfect in one direction; conchoidal fracture
Typical values: real specimens vary. For more, see mindat.org.