Post by Admin on Apr 10, 2021 11:54:59 GMT -7
CLAY
Is only 16% of the Framework Silicates, but oh so useful (and messy) in our world..
Many different kinds of rocks break down to become clays - each rock making a unique kind of clay.
According to POTTERS there are 4 kinds of clay:
Earthenware clay, Stoneware clay, Ball clay, and Porcelain.
For the Geologists:
Kaolin group which includes the minerals kaolinite, dickite, halloysite, and nacrite (polymorphs of Al2Si2O5(OH)4).[6]
- Some sources include the kaolinite-serpentine group due to structural similarities.
A kaolinite layer has no net electrical charge and so there are no large cations (such as calcium, sodium, or potassium) between layers as with most other clay minerals. This accounts for kaolinite's relatively low ion exchange capacity. The close hydrogen bonding between layers also hinders water molecules from infiltrating between layers, accounting for kaolinite's nonswelling character.
Smectite group which includes dioctahedral smectites, such as montmorillonite, nontronite and beidellite, and trioctahedral smectites, such as saponite.
Smectite refers to clay minerals that contain varying amounts of alkali metals and alkaline earth metals. Clay minerals absorb water and are able to expand.
Bentonite clay is composed of volcanic ash sediments that have been weathered over a long period of time. Sodium bentonite clay is known for its swelling properties, as it acts like a sponge when mixed with water.
Chlorite group includes a wide variety of similar minerals with considerable chemical variation.
Chlorite is so soft that it can be scratched by a finger nail. The powder generated by scratching is green. It feels oily when rubbed between the fingers. The plates are flexible, but not elastic like mica.
Talc is much softer and feels soapy between fingers. The powder generated by scratching is white.
Mica plates are elastic whereas chlorite plates are flexible without bending back.
Illite group which includes the clay-micas. Illite is the only common mineral. Illite is a non-expanding clay material. It contains silicon, aluminum, iron, magnesium, and potassium. It can also contain sodium and chromium. It’s found as small particles, unlike other clay minerals. It’s a rocky compound.
For Rockhounds: Clays that expands with water, those that don't, those that are slippery, and those with a lot of silica.
Here in Enoch I found it odd as I installed my sprinkler system, that the land runs downhill from east to west between I-15 and Minersville Road, BUT from north to south it is often 40-50 foot wide strips of alternating sand and clay. How did that happen?
Weird rain runoff from the Colorado Plateau on our east!
50 years ago I was desperate to start some (ANY) kind of business of my own. One wild idea was to use solar furnaces and clay to become a billionaire!
Where to get the clay?
My stepfather, Milton Knight, (part of the Atom Bomb Tests on the Bikini Atoll -but that is a whole 'nother story) was born in Holden and raised in Hinkley. From my visits there I knew that the land west of town was miles long, wide, and deep with heavy clay.
If I could just purchase a section, build thousands of solar furnaces, make gobs of clay molds, . . .
youtu.be/rusxyDCmwvI
sites.google.com/.../clay-types-geological...