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- serpentine
-
- The hydrous magnesium SILICATE MINERAL serpentine forms from the
- alteration of olivine and pyroxene in the presence of abundant water.
- ASBESTOS, its most fibrous form, is used as an insulating material.
- Serpentinite, the massive form of serpentine, may be cut and polished
- for ornamental stone. Serpentinite rocks are found associated with
- alpine PERIDOTITES and ophiolite sequences and are thought to be
- segments of altered mantle material that have been thrust upward into
- the Earth's crust. JAMES A. WHITNEY
-