Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
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heulandite
hydrated sodium and calcium aluminosilicate mineral in the zeolite family, formulated (Ca,Na)2-3Al3(Al,Si)2Si13O3612H2O. It forms brittle, transparent, coffin-shaped crystals in various shades of white through red, gray, or brown. Heulandite's molecular structure is an open framework containing six-membered rings of silicate tetrahedra (four oxygen atoms arranged at the points of a triangular pyramid around a central silicon atom) joined in parallel planes. This structure and the substitution of aluminum atoms for some of the silicon atoms give the mineral its cation-exchange properties (dissolved sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium readily replacing one another in the molecular structure), making it useful in water softeners. Heulandite is found with other zeolite minerals filling cavities in granites, pegmatites, and basalts. Typical occurrences are in Berufjordhur, Ice.; on islands near Bombay; on the Faroe Islands; and in northeastern New Jersey.
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