Talk:Portlandite

Worry point: chemical, mineral or both?
I see from the sources that we have Ca(OH)2 as a mineral, Portlandite, and as a chemical, Calcium hydroxide. What makes a thing be one and not the other? Or are they two names for the same thing? As neither a geologist nor a chemist, I can just ask.... --Alvestrand 04:17, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

A mineral is a naturally occuring substance (eg Portlandite). Most chemical substances (Calcium Hydroxide) can be artificially made in a variety of ways in the lab. Portlandite is a naturally occuring form of Calcium Hydroxide (made by geologic forces). Stuant63 14:51, 15 February 2007 (UTC)stuant63

This is not quite correct since mineralogical names are not infrequently given to entirely synthetic substances. Perhaps a less misleading term would be "crystallographic name", since the name refers to a specific crystal structure, and not merely a chemical compound. The term "mineralogical" is historically used because minerals were often identified and distinguished by their crystal form. LinguisticDemographer 23:20, 10 June 2007 (UTC)

No, it should be left, as when referring to Ca(OH)2 you are not necessarily referring to Portlandite. This would cause problems for Chemistry students using Wikipedia as a reference. 18:33 15th February 2007. User: Anonymous.

We should include it with Calcium Hydroxide, but also include a common synthetic path toward the production of Calcium Hydroxide. A good example would be the formation of calcium hydride by direct addtion then teh addtion of calcium hydride to water to obtain calcium hydroxide and hydrogen gas. This would provide a good discussion of synthetic methodology vs. natural isolation.

Valid mineral species
I've re-instated the portlandite mineral article. Vsmith (talk) 03:37, 5 August 2010 (UTC)