Precious Opal and Alabaster Physical Properties

Precious Opal and Alabaster Chemical Formula

While comparing Precious Opal and Alabaster 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 Precious Opal and Alabaster chemical formula.

• Chemical formula of Precious Opal- SiO 2 · nH 2OGemdat.org , Management Team (2012)
• Chemical formula of Alabaster- CaSO 4 · 2H 2OWalter Schumann , Gemstones of the world (2001)

Precious Opal and Alabaster Specific Gravity

Another important criteria for qualitative analysis of gemstones is Precious Opal and Alabaster Specific gravity. Specific gravity is the relative density of a gemstone compared with respect to density of water. Gemologists use Precious Opal and Alabaster Optical Properties during the identification of gemstone. Specific gravity of Precious Opal is 2.30 whereas that of Alabaster is 2.30.