Mica
The mica group of minerals are aluminosilicates with various metals. They split into fine sheets, which puts them in the phyllosilicate group of silicate minerals.
Mica includes several closely related materials having perfect basal cleavage.
All are monoclinic which means their crystals are shaped like one kind of prism. They tend towards pseudo-hexagonal crystals and are similar in chemical composition. The highly perfect cleavage, which is the most prominent characteristic of mica, is explained by the hexagonal sheet-like arrangement of its atoms.
Being excellent electrical insulators, they are used in electronic equipment including capacitors.
Mica Media
- MicaSheetUSGOV
Photomicrographs of a thin section containing phlogopite. In cross-polarized light on the left, plane-polarized light on the right.
Dark mica from eastern Ontario
Mica embedded in metamorphic rock
Micanite advertisement, 1899
Micanite or mica for isolated mounting of transistors (top, right) and mica discs
Nichrome wire, used in heating elements, is often wrapped around sheets of mica.
Слюдяное окно. Россия, конец XVII - начало XVIII века. Дерево, слюда, олово.
