Alabaster and Anhydrite Physical Properties
Tenacity
Not Available
  
Brittle
  
Solubility
Not Available
  
Not Available
  
Durability
Not Available
  
Not Available
  
Specific Gravity
2.30
  
2.90-2.98
  
Fracture
Not Available
  
Conchoidal, Brittle, Conchoidal, UnevenArthur Thomas, Gemstones (2009), Brittle, Conchoidal
  
Cleavage
Not Available
  
Rare tabular and prismatic crystals. Usually occurs as fibrous, parallel veins that break off into cleavage fragments.
  
Mohs Hardness
2
  
3.5
  
Chemical Composition
CaSO 4 · 2H 2OWalter Schumann , Gemstones of the world (2001)
  
CaSO 4Michael OâDonoghue , Gems, Sixth edition (2006) More from other references
  
Alabaster and Anhydrite Chemical Formula
While comparing Alabaster and Anhydrite physical properties, the important data you should know is its chemical composition. Since chemical formula defines the molecular structure of the crystal, most of the physical properties like color, tenacity, solubility are governed by Alabaster and Anhydrite chemical formula.
- Chemical formula of Alabaster- CaSO 4 · 2H 2OWalter Schumann , Gemstones of the world (2001)
- Chemical formula of Anhydrite- CaSO 4Michael OâDonoghue , Gems, Sixth edition (2006) More from other references
Alabaster and Anhydrite Specific Gravity
Another important criteria for qualitative analysis of gemstones is Alabaster and Anhydrite Specific gravity. Specific gravity is the relative density of a gemstone compared with respect to density of water. Gemologists use Alabaster and Anhydrite Optical Properties during the identification of gemstone. Specific gravity of Alabaster is 2.90-2.98 whereas that of Anhydrite is 2.90-2.98.