TOURMALINE • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of Tourmaline

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/tˈʊrməlˌin/ Listen

Tourmaline

noun

(Written also turmaline)

A mineral that is a complex borosilicate and hydroxide of aluminum containing iron and magnesium and calcium and lithium and sodium; it is usually black but occurs in transparent colored forms that are used as gemstones.

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Etymology of 'Tourmaline'

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"Tourmaline" Quotes from Famous Books

... message comes from the, often so mysterious, colouring of the crystals. Here again nature offers us an instance which, 'worth a thousand', reveals a secret that would otherwise remain veiled. We refer to the pink crystals of tourmaline, whose colour comes from a small admixture of lithium. This element, which belongs to the group of the alkaline metals, does not form coloured salts (a property only shown by the heavier metals). If exposed to a flame, however, it endows it with a definite colour which is the same as that ...

— Man or Matter • Ernst Lehrs

Words linked to "Tourmaline" : transparent gem, schorl, mineral