What is "mineral"

Mineral \Min"er*al\, n. [F. min['e]ral, LL. minerale, fr. minera mine. See Mine, v. i.]

1. An inorganic species or substance occurring in nature, having a definite chemical composition and usually a distinct crystalline form. Rocks, except certain glassy igneous forms, are either simple minerals or aggregates of minerals.

2. A mine. [Obs.]
   --Shak.

3. Anything which is neither animal nor vegetable, as in the most general classification of things into three kingdoms (animal, vegetable, and mineral).

Mineral \Min"er*al\, a.

1. Of or pertaining to minerals; consisting of a mineral or of minerals; as, a mineral substance.

2. Impregnated with minerals; as, mineral waters.

   Mineral acids (Chem.), inorganic acids, as sulphuric, nitric, phosphoric, hydrochloric, acids, etc., as distinguished from the organic acids.

   Mineral blue, the name usually given to azurite, when reduced to an impalpable powder for coloring purposes.

   Mineral candle, a candle made of paraffin.

   Mineral caoutchouc, an elastic mineral pitch, a variety of bitumen, resembling caoutchouc in elasticity and softness. See Caoutchouc, and Elaterite.

   Mineral chameleon (Chem.) See Chameleon mineral, under Chameleon.

   Mineral charcoal. See under Charcoal.

   Mineral cotton. See Mineral wool (below).

   Mineral green, a green carbonate of copper; malachite.

   Mineral kingdom (Nat. Sci.), that one of the three grand divisions of nature which embraces all inorganic objects, as distinguished from plants or animals.

   Mineral oil. See Naphtha, and Petroleum.

   Mineral paint, a pigment made chiefly of some natural mineral substance, as red or yellow iron ocher.

   Mineral patch. See Bitumen, and Asphalt.

   Mineral right, the right of taking minerals from land.

   Mineral salt (Chem.), a salt of a mineral acid.

   Mineral tallow, a familiar name for hatchettite, from its fatty or spermaceti-like appearance.

   Mineral water. See under Water.

   Mineral wax. See Ozocerite.

   Mineral wool, a fibrous wool-like material, made by blowing a powerful jet of air or steam through melted slag. It is a poor conductor of heat.

late 14c., "substance obtained by mining," from Medieval Latin minerale "something mined," noun use of neuter of mineralis "pertaining to mines," from minera "mine." Meaning "material substance that is neither animal nor vegetable" is first recorded c.1600. Modern scientific sense is from 1813.

early 15c., "neither animal nor vegetable," from Old French mineral and directly from Medieval Latin mineralis (see mineral (n.)). Mineral water (early 15c.) originally was water found in nature with some mineral substance dissolved in it.

a. of, related to, or containing minerals n. (context geology English) Any naturally occurring inorganic material that has a (more or less) definite chemical composition and characteristic physical properties.

1. adj. relating to minerals; "mineral elements"; "mineral deposits"

2. of or containing or derived from minerals; "a mineral deposit"; "mineral water" [ant: animal, vegetable]

3. composed of matter other than plant or animal; "the inorganic mineral world"

n. solid homogeneous inorganic substances occurring in nature having a definite chemical composition

A mineral is a naturally occurring chemical compound. Most often, they are crystalline and abiogenic in origin. A mineral is different from a rock, which can be an aggregate of minerals or non-minerals and does not have one specific chemical composition, as a mineral does. The exact definition of a mineral is under debate, especially with respect to the requirement that a valid species be abiogenic, and to a lesser extent with regard to it having an ordered atomic structure.

The study of minerals is called mineralogy. There are over 5,300 known mineral species; over 5,070 of these have been approved by the International Mineralogical Association (IMA). The silicate minerals compose over 90% of the Earth's crust. The diversity and abundance of mineral species is controlled by the Earth's chemistry. Silicon and oxygen constitute approximately 75% of the Earth's crust, which translates directly into the predominance of silicate minerals.

Minerals are distinguished by various chemical and physical properties. Differences in chemical composition and crystal structure distinguish the various species, which were determined by the mineral's geological environment when formed. Changes in the temperature, pressure, or bulk composition of a rock mass cause changes in its minerals.

Minerals can be described by their various physical properties, which are related to their chemical structure and composition. Common distinguishing characteristics include crystal structure and habit, hardness, lustre, diaphaneity, colour, streak, tenacity, cleavage, fracture, parting, and specific gravity. More specific tests for describing minerals include magnetism, taste or smell, radioactivity and reaction to acid.

Minerals are classified by key chemical constituents; the two dominant systems are the Dana classification and the Strunz classification. The silicate class of minerals is subdivided into six subclasses by the degree of polymerization in the chemical structure. All silicate minerals have a base unit of a [SiO] silica tetrahedron—that is, a silicon cation coordinated by four oxygen anions, which gives the shape of a tetrahedron. These tetrahedra can be polymerized to give the subclasses: orthosilicates (no polymerization, thus single tetrahedra), disilicates (two tetrahedra bonded together), cyclosilicates (rings of tetrahedra), inosilicates (chains of tetrahedra), phyllosilicates (sheets of tetrahedra), and tectosilicates (three-dimensional network of tetrahedra). Other important mineral groups include the native elements, sulfides, oxides, halides, carbonates, sulfates, and phosphates.

Mineral is an American emo band originally from Houston, Texas. Soon following their formation they relocated to Austin. All four members of Mineral were signed to Interscope Records on individual contracts. After disbanding in 1998, its members worked on numerous other musical projects including The Gloria Record, Pop Unknown, and Zookeeper.

Mineral's music is characterized by its iterated soft/loud structure, overlaid with melodic vocals and ethereal guitar-based instrumental bridges. Mineral's subtle balance between angst-ridden kinetics and wistful underpinnings, in conjunction with their intelligent lyrics, have heavily influenced many bands of the late 1990s and 2000s.

In 2010, a compilation CD of all the band's songs (except for "Sadder Star", from the First Crush comp) was released in Japan, entitled "The Complete Collection".

Mineral announced a reunion tour on April 24, 2014.

Mineral usually refers to:

• Mineral, an element or chemical compound that is normally crystalline, formed as a result of geological processes
• Mineral water, water containing dissolved minerals of the sense above
• Dietary mineral, elements required by living organisms
• Mineral resources, geological deposits (crystalline, non-crystalline, solid, liquid or gas) which potentially can be mined

A mineral is a chemical element required as an essential nutrient by organisms, other than carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur present in common organic molecules. These elements are classed as minerals in the four groups of essential nutrients; the others are vitamins, essential fatty acids, and essential amino acids.

Major chemical elements in order of abundance in the human body include calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, chlorine, and magnesium. Important trace elements, necessary for mammalian life, include iron, cobalt, copper, zinc, manganese, molybdenum, iodine, and selenium. Because inorganic mineral content of foods do not form volatile combustion products, nutrition analysis methods involving combustion may report the total mineral content of food as " crude ash".

Over twenty minerals are necessary for mammals, and several more for various other types of life. The total number of chemical elements that are absolutely needed is not known for any organism. Ultratrace elements of some minerals such as boron and chromium are known to clearly have a role but the exact biochemical nature is unknown, and others such as arsenic, bromine, and silicon are suspected to have a role in health, but with weaker evidence.

Most chemical elements that are ingested by organisms are in the form of simple compounds. Larger chemical compounds of elements need to be broken down for absorption. Plants absorb dissolved elements in soils, which are subsequently picked up by the herbivores that eat them, and the elements move up the food chain. Larger organisms may also consume soil ( geophagia) and visit salt licks to obtain limiting minerals they are unable to acquire through other components of their diet.

Bacteria play an essential role in the weathering of primary elements that results in the release of nutrients for their own nutrition and for the nutrition of others in the ecological food chain. One element, cobalt, is available for use by animals only after having been processed into complex molecules (e.g., vitamin B12) by bacteria. Scientists are only recently starting to appreciate the magnitude and role that microorganisms have in the global cycling and formation of biominerals.