Natron
Mineral Na2CO3·10H2O
Take care.
- Damaged by water: Keep it dry: don't wash it, and keep it out of damp places.
About it
Soft, colourless to white crusts of hydrated soda that dissolve in water and crumble to thermonatrite in dry air. Used by ancient Egyptians to prepare mummies; found around soda lakes such as Egypt's Wadi El Natrun.
- Type
- Mineral
- Group
- Carbonate
- Formula
- Na2CO3·10H2O
- Hardness (Mohs)
- 1–1.5
- Specific gravity
- 1.42–1.47
- Streak
- white
- Lustre
- vitreous (glassy), earthy
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Colours
- colourless, white, grey, yellowish
- Transparency
- transparent, translucent
- Cleavage and fracture
- distinct in one direction; conchoidal fracture
Typical values: real specimens vary. For more, see mindat.org.