A blue or gray mineral form of aluminum silicate (Al₂SiO₅) that is used as a gemstone and as a refractory material in high-temperature applications.
From cyano- (blue) + -ite (suffix for minerals). The mineral was named for its typical blue color; also known as kyanite.
Cyanite is one of three minerals that are literally the same chemical compound but arranged differently—along with andalusite and sillimanite, it proves that atoms can be rearranged into totally different materials with different properties, a concept that blew early chemists' minds.
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