GYPSUM

Gypsum

Gypsum is a very soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4ยท2H2O. It can be used as a fertilizer, is the main constituent in many forms of plaster and is widely mined. A very fine-grained white or lightly tinted variety of gypsum, called alabaster, has been used for sculpture by many cultures including Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and the Nottingham alabasters of medieval England. It is the definition of a hardness of 2 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. It forms as an evaporite mineral and as a hydration product of anhydrite.

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gypsum

Noun

  1. A mineral consisting of the hydrated calcium sulphate. When calcined, it forms plaster of Paris.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: gypsum
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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