Galena lanita
Galena crystal from Galena, Kansas
General
Category	Sulfides
Chemical formula	lead sulfide (PbS)
Identification
Color	Lead gray, silvery
Crystal habit	Cubes and octahedra, tabular and sometimes skeletal crystals
Crystal system	Isometric hexoctahedral
Cleavage	Cubic
Fracture	Flat (when cubic) to even
Mohs Scale hardness	2.5 - 2.75
Luster	Metallic
Refractive index	Opaque
Pleochroism	None
Streak	Lead gray
Specific gravity	7.4 - 7.6 Hardness = 2/1/2
Density	7.4 - 7.6
Fusibility	2

Galena's unit cell

Galena is the natural mineral form of lead sulfide. It is the most important lead ore mineral. Look up galena in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 600 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (876 × 876 pixels, file size: 119 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A picture of a galena crystal from the city of Galena, Kansas, USA. better version File historyClick on a date/time to view the file... For other uses, see Crystal (disambiguation). ... Galena is a city located in Cherokee County, Kansas. ... A chemical formula is a concise way of expressing information about the atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound. ... This article is about the metal. ... Formally, sulfide is the dianion, S2−, which exists in strongly alkaline aqueous solutions formed from H2S or alkali metal salts such as Li2S, Na2S, and K2S. Sulfide is exceptionally basic and, with a pKa > 14, it does not exist in appreciable concentrations even in highly alkaline water. ... In mineralogy, shape and size give rise to descriptive terms applied to the typical appearance, or habit of crystals. ... A crystal system is a category of space groups, which characterize symmetry of structures in three dimensions with translational symmetry in three directions, having a discrete class of point groups. ... In crystallography, the cubic crystal system (or isometric crystal system) is the most symmetric of the 7 crystal systems. ... Cleavage, in mineralogy, is the tendency of crystalline materials to split along definite planes, creating smooth surfaces, of which there are several named types: Basal cleavage: cleavage parallel to the base of a crystal, or to the plane of the lateral axes. ... For other uses, see Fracture (disambiguation). ... Mohs scale of mineral hardness characterizes the scratch resistance of various minerals through the ability of a harder material to scratch a softer. ... Lustre (American English: luster) is a description of the way light interacts with the surface of a crystal, rock or mineral. ... The refractive index (or index of refraction) of a medium is a measure for how much the speed of light (or other waves such as sound waves) is reduced inside the medium. ... Pleochroism is an optical phenomenon in which grains of a rock appear to be different colors when observed at different angles,under a petrographic microscope. ... The streak (also called powder color) of a mineral is the color of the powder produced when it is dragged across a unweathered surface. ... Relative density (also known as specific gravity) is a measure of the density of a material. ... For other uses, see Density (disambiguation). ... Fusibility is the ease with which a material will melt. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 632 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,100 × 1,043 pixels, file size: 358 KB, MIME type: image/png) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 632 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,100 × 1,043 pixels, file size: 358 KB, MIME type: image/png) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... In mineralogy and crystallography, a crystal structure is a unique arrangement of atoms in a crystal. ... Lead sulfide (British/Commonwealth English sulphide) is a chemical compound PbS, most often purified from the mineral galena. ... This article is about the metal. ... Iron ore (Banded iron formation) Manganese ore Lead ore Gold ore An ore is a volume of rock containing components or minerals in a mode of occurrence which renders it valuable for mining. ...

Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crystallizes in the cubic crystal system often showing octahedral forms. It is often associated with the minerals sphalerite, calcite and fluorite. In crystallography, the cubic crystal system (or isometric crystal system) is the most symmetric of the 7 crystal systems. ... An octahedron (plural: octahedra) is a polyhedron with eight faces. ... Sphalerite sample Another sphalerite sample The unit cell of sphalerite Sphalerite (ZnS) is a gay mineral that is the chief ore of zinc. ... Doubly refracting Calcite from Iceberg claim, Dixon, New Mexico. ... Fluorite (also called fluor-spar) is a mineral composed of calcium fluoride, CaF2. ...

Lead ore deposits

Galena deposits often contain significant amounts of silver as included silver sulfide mineral phases or as limited solid solution within the galena structure. These argentiferous galenas have long been the most important ore of silver in mining. In addition zinc, cadmium, antimony, arsenic and bismuth also occur in variable amounts in lead ores. Selenium substitutes for sulfur in the structure constituting a solid solution series. The lead telluride mineral altaite has the same crystal structure as galena. Within the weathering or oxidation zone galena alters to anglesite (lead sulfate) or cerussite (lead carbonate). This article is about the chemical element. ... Chuquicamata, the second largest open pit copper mine in the world, Chile. ... A telluride ion is a tellurium atom with two extra electrons and charge −2. ... Altaite also known as lead telluride is a yellowish white mineral with an isometric crystal structure. ... Weathering is the decomposition of rocks, soils and their minerals through direct contact with the Earths atmosphere. ... The most fundamental reactions in chemistry are the redox processes. ... Anglesite specimen in its orthorhombic crystalline form Anglesite is a lead sulfate mineral, PbSO4. ... Sample of cerussite-bearing quartzite Cerussite (also known as lead carbonate or white lead ore) is a mineral consisting of lead carbonate (PbCO3), and an important ore of lead. ...

Galena from Poland

Galena deposits are found in Wales, France, Romania, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Scotland, England, Australia, and Mexico. Noted deposits include those at Freiberg, Saxony; Cornwall, Derbyshire, and Cumberland, England; the Sullivan mine of British Columbia; and Broken Hill, Australia. Galena also occurs at Mount Hermon in Northern Israel. In the United States it occurs most notably in the Mississippi Valley type deposits of the Lead Belt in southeastern Missouri, and in similar environments in Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. Galena also was a major mineral of the zinc-lead mines of the tri-state district around Joplin in southwestern Missouri and the adjoining areas of Kansas and Oklahoma. Galena is also an important ore mineral in the silver mining regions of Colorado, Idaho, Utah and Montana. Of the latter, the Coeur d'Alene district of northern Idaho was most prominent. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... This article is about the country. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Freiberg, Obermarkt square Freiberg is a city in Saxony, Germany, capital of the district Freiberg. ... For other uses, see Cornwall (disambiguation). ... Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. ... Cumberland is one of the 39 traditional counties of England. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Sullivan Mine is an underground mine located in Kimberley, British Columbia, Canada; it has a complex orebody, made up primarily of zinc sulfide, lead sulfide, and iron sulfides. ... Motto: Splendor sine occasu (Latin: Splendour without diminishment) Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Official languages English (de facto) Government Lieutenant-Governor Steven Point Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament House seats 36 Senate seats 6 Confederation July 20, 1871 (6th province) Area  Ranked 5th Total 944... Broken Hill is an isolated mining city and Local Government Area in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia, with a population of 21,000. ... Mount Hermon, viewed from Mount Bental Mount Hermon Panoramic, from Manara on the Naftali heights Mount Hermon Panoramic from Nimrod (Israel) Panoramic view from the Mountain Mount Hermon (top of photo) supplies the bulk of the Jordan Rivers water Mount Hermon (; Hebrew: , Har Hermon; Arabic: ‎, Jabal el-Shaiykh, Djabl... Length 6,270 km Elevation of the source 450 m Average discharge 16,200 m³/s Area watershed 2,980,000 km² Origin Lake Itasca Mouth Gulf of Mexico Basin countries United States (98. ... The Lead Belt is a lead mining district in the southeastern part of Missouri. ... Official language(s) English Capital Jefferson City Largest city Kansas City Largest metro area St Louis[1] Area  Ranked 21st  - Total 69,709 sq mi (180,693 km²)  - Width 240 miles (385 km)  - Length 300 miles (480 km)  - % water 1. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Metropolitan Area Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (140,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... Official language(s) English Capital Des Moines Largest city Des Moines Largest metro area Des Moines metropolitan area Area  Ranked 26th  - Total 56,272 sq mi (145,743 km²)  - Width 310 miles (500 km)  - Length 199 miles (320 km)  - % water 0. ... Official language(s) None Capital Madison Largest city Milwaukee Largest metro area Greater Milwaukee Area  Ranked 23rd  - Total 65,498 sq mi (169,790 km²)  - Width 260 miles (420 km)  - Length 310 miles (500 km)  - % water 17  - Latitude 42° 30′ N to 47° 05′ N  - Longitude 86° 46′ W to... Alternate uses: see Joplin (disambiguation). ... Official language(s) English[2] Capital Topeka Largest city Wichita Area  Ranked 15th  - Total 82,277 sq mi (213,096 km²)  - Width 211 miles (340 km)  - Length 417 miles (645 km)  - % water 0. ... For other uses, see Oklahoma (disambiguation). ... Official language(s) English Capital Denver Largest city Denver Largest metro area Denver-Aurora Metro Area Area  Ranked 8th  - Total 104,185 sq mi (269,837 km²)  - Width 280 miles (451 km)  - Length 380 miles (612 km)  - % water 0. ... Official language(s) English [1] Capital Boise Largest city Boise Largest metro area Boise metropolitan area Area  Ranked 14th  - Total 83,642 sq mi (216,632 km²)  - Width 305 miles (491 km)  - Length 479 miles (771 km)  - % water 0. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Official language(s) English Capital Helena Largest city Billings Area  Ranked 4th  - Total 147,165 sq mi (381,156 km²)  - Width 255 miles (410 km)  - Length 630 miles (1,015 km)  - % water 1  - Latitude 44° 21′ N to 49° N  - Longitude 104° 2′ W to 116° 3′ W Population  Ranked... Coeur dAlene (IPA: ) is the county seat and largest city of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. ...

Galena is the official state mineral of the U. S. states: Missouri and Wisconsin. List of U.S. state minerals, rocks, stones, and gemstones. ...

Galena uses

Dark gray cubes of galena with fluorite (purple) and calcite (white) from Illinois, USA

One of the earliest uses of galena was as kohl, which in Ancient Egypt, was applied around the eyes to reduce the glare of the desert sun and to repel flies, which were a potential source of disease.^[1] Image File history File links Size of this preview: 713 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1372 × 1154 pixels, file size: 344 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) (All user names refer to en. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 713 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1372 × 1154 pixels, file size: 344 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) (All user names refer to en. ... Kohl is a mixture of soot and other ingredients used predominantly by Middle Eastern , North African, Sub-Saharan African and Asian women, and to a lesser extent men, to darken the eyelids and as mascara for the eyelashes. ... Khafres Pyramid and the Great Sphinx of Giza, built about 2550 BC during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom,[1] are enduring symbols of the civilization of ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt was a civilization in Northeastern Africa concentrated along the middle to lower reaches of the Nile River...

Galena is a semiconductor with a small bandgap of about 0.4 eV which found use in early wireless communication systems. For example, it was used as the crystal in crystal radio sets, in which it was used as a point-contact diode to detect the radio signals. The galena crystal was used with a safety pin or similar sharp wire, and was known as a "cat's whisker". Scientists that were linked to this application are Karl Ferdinand Braun and Sir Jagdish Bose. In modern wireless communication systems, galena detectors have been replaced by more reliable semiconductor devices, however, silicon point-contact microwave detectors still exist in the market. A semiconductor is a solid whose electrical conductivity is in between that of a conductor and that of an insulator, and can be controlled over a wide range, either permanently or dynamically. ... For the use of the term in networking, see Wireless networking. ... The crystal radio receiver (also known as a crystal set) was first built circa 1900 by Greenleaf Whittier Pickard, who used crystalline minerals to detect radio signals. ... Closeup of the image below, showing the square shaped semiconductor crystal various semiconductor diodes, below a bridge rectifier Structure of a vacuum tube diode In electronics, a diode is a two-terminal component, almost always one that has electrical properties which vary depending on the direction of flow of charge... Cat Whisker Detector A crystal detector in commercial form from the 1960s Cat’s whisker refers to a thin wire that lightly touches a semiconducting crystal to make an imperfect contact-junction detector in a crystal radio. ... Karl Ferdinand Braun (6 June 1850 in Fulda, Germany – 20 April 1918 in New York City, USA) was a German inventor, physicist and Nobel Prize laureate. ... Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose (Bengali: Jôgdish Chôndro Boshu) (November 30, 1858 – November 23, 1937) was a Bengali physicist from undivided India, who pioneered the investigation of radio and microwave optics and made extremely significant contributions to plant science. ... Not to be confused with Silicone. ...

See also

• List of minerals

Gem animals. ...

References

• Klein, Cornelis and Cornelius S. Hurlbut, Jr. (1985) Manual of Mineralogy, Wiley, 2nd ed., pp. 274-276, ISBN 0-471-80580-7
• Webmineral data
• Mindat with location data
• Franklin and Sterling Hill mineral deposits
• Mineral Data Publishing - PDF

Notes

1. ^ Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Art of Medicine in Ancient Egypt. (New York: The Museum, 2005), p. 10, ISBN 1-58839-170-1

External links

• Case Studies in Environmental Medicine (CSEM): Lead Toxicity
• ToxFAQs™: Lead
• Mineral information institute entry for lead