Clay: Difference between revisions
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== Characteristics of Clay == | == Characteristics of Clay == | ||
For something to be considered clay it has to met a few criteria. The grain size of a clay particle has to be 0.002mm or smaller. It has to have the ability to absorb water. Clay particles will increase there size greatly when they absorb water, sometimes by nearly 100 percent. | For something to be considered clay it has to met a few criteria. The grain size of a clay particle has to be 0.002mm or smaller. It has to have the ability to absorb water. Clay particles will increase there size greatly when they absorb water, sometimes by nearly 100 percent. Clay has to be made of hydrous aluminum silicates, these are the chemicals that will be able to absorb water. there are other chemicals in clay but there can be made of whatever other material is broken down in erosion and weathering. | ||
== Residual Clay == | == Residual Clay == | ||
Revision as of 12:55, 14 April 2018
Origins of Clay
Clay is formed from the erosion of a limited variety of environments. Some of these environments include; continental which is weathering and erosion on Earth's surface, marine which occurs on the floor of a body of water, or even within the Earth when it is near a heat source. The heat source would be magma, and there would have to be water in the pores of the rocks and minerals under the crust of the Earth. When the situations are right the clay is formed by the breaking down of the minerals. Clay can include any minerals of the rocks that it breaks down but there has to be some minerals in it that are able to absorb water. In order for something to be a considered a clay it also has to be smaller than 0.002mm. There are 2 main types of clay residual and sedimentary clays.
Characteristics of Clay
For something to be considered clay it has to met a few criteria. The grain size of a clay particle has to be 0.002mm or smaller. It has to have the ability to absorb water. Clay particles will increase there size greatly when they absorb water, sometimes by nearly 100 percent. Clay has to be made of hydrous aluminum silicates, these are the chemicals that will be able to absorb water. there are other chemicals in clay but there can be made of whatever other material is broken down in erosion and weathering.
Residual Clay
Residual clay is clay that has not been transported away from the parent rock. It is considered to have low plasticity and will not stick together very easily.
Sedimentary Clay
Sedimentary clay are minerals that broke down from the original parent material, through weathering and erosion. They are then transported by wind, water, ice, or any other mode of transport away from the parent rock. when they get moved there are eroded further causing them to decrease in there size. This type of clay is considered to have more plasticity this means it will stick together better.