Soapstone

Chert

Soapstone vs Chert

Soapstone

Chert

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1 Definition

1.1 Definition

It is a metamorphic magnesium rich rock because it is composed of the mineral talc

Chert is a hard, dark, opaque sedimentary rock which is composed of silica with an amorphous fine-grained texture

1.2 History

1.2.1 Origin

USA

Unknown

1.2.2 Discoverer

Unknown

1.3 Etymology

From 17th century, because of its greasy feel and use like a soap

From flint-like quartz, 1670s, of unknown origin- a local term, which has been taken into geological use

1.4 Class

Metamorphic Rocks

Sedimentary Rocks

1.4.1 Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Soft Rock

Durable Rock, Hard Rock

1.5 Family

1.5.1 Group

Not Applicable

1.6 Other Categories

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

2 Texture

2.1 Texture

Polished

Banded, Rough

2.2 Color

Black, Black to Grey, Green, Grey

Black, Brown, Green, Grey, Red, White

2.3 Maintenance

Less

2.4 Durability

Durable

2.4.1 Water Resistant

✔ ✘

81% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

59% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.2 Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

65% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

62% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.3 Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

42% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

43% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.4 Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

19% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

38% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.5 Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

15% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

22% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

2.5 Appearance

Dull, Banded and Foilated

Glassy or Pearly

3 Uses

3.1 Architecture

3.1.1 Interior Uses

Bathrooms, Decorative Aggregates, Homes, Interior Decoration

Decorative Aggregates, Homes

3.1.2 Exterior Uses

As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration

As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings

3.1.3 Other Architectural Uses

Curbing

3.2 Industry

3.2.1 Construction Industry

Manufacture of Magnesium and Dolomite Refractories

Arrowheads, Construction Aggregate, Cutting Tool, Spear Points

3.2.2 Medical Industry

Taken as a Supplement for Calcium or Magnesium

Not Yet Used

3.3 Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Jewellery, Monuments, Sculpture

Artifacts, Monuments

3.4 Other Uses

3.4.1 Commercial Uses

Cemetery Markers, Creating Artwork, Gemstone, Jewelry, Manufacture of Soap, Solvents, Dyes, Plastics and Fibres, Production of Lime, Source of Magnesia (MgO)

Creating Artwork, Gemstone, In fire-starting tools, Jewelry, To ignite fire, Used in flintlock firearms

4 Types

4.1 Types

Not Available

Flint, Jasper, Radiolarite, Common Chert, Chalcedony, Agate, Onyx, Opal, Magadi-type Chert, Porcelanite, Siliceous Sinter

4.2 Features

Host Rock for Lead

Clasts are smooth to touch, Easily splits into thin plates, Has High structural resistance against erosion and climate

4.3 Archaeological Significance

4.3.1 Monuments

Used

4.3.2 Famous Monuments

Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Stonehenge in English county of Wiltshire

Data Not Available

4.3.3 Sculpture

Used

Not Yet Used

4.3.4 Famous Sculptures

Data Not Available

Not Applicable

4.3.5 Pictographs

Used

Not Used

4.3.6 Petroglyphs

Used

Not Used

4.3.7 Figurines

Used

Not Yet Used

4.4 Fossils

Absent

Present

5 Formation

5.1 Formation

Soapstone is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock and it is largely composed of the mineral talc and is thus rich inmagnesium.

Chert forms when microcrystals of silicon dioxide grow within soft sediments that become limestone or chalk. The chert formation can be either of chemical or biological origin.

5.2 Composition

5.2.1 Mineral Content

Albite, Apatite, Biotite, Calcite, Carbonate, Clay Minerals, Hornblende, Ilmenite, Micas, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Quartz

Quartz, Silicon

5.2.2 Compound Content

CaO, Mg, MgO

Silicon Dioxide

5.3 Transformation

5.3.1 Metamorphism

✔ ✘

50% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

19% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.2 Types of Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism, Hydrothermal Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism

Not Applicable

5.3.3 Weathering

✔ ✘

65% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

78% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.4 Types of Weathering

Not Applicable

5.3.5 Erosion

✔ ✘

77% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

86% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.6 Types of Erosion

Not Applicable

Chemical Erosion

6 Properties

6.1 Physical Properties

6.1.1 Hardness

6.5-7

6.1.2 Grain Size

Fine Grained

Very fine-grained

6.1.3 Fracture

Conchoidal

Uneven, Splintery or Conchoidal

6.1.4 Streak

Black

White

6.1.5 Porosity

Less Porous

Highly Porous

6.1.6 Luster

Greasy

Waxy and Dull

6.1.7 Compressive Strength

Flint

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▶

▼

225.00 N/mm²

Rank: 7 (Overall)▶

450.00 N/mm²

Rank: 1 (Overall)▶

▲

Obsidian

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▶

175 (Granite)

◀ ▶ ADD ⊕

6.1.8 Cleavage

Perfect

Non-Existent

6.1.9 Toughness

1.5

6.1.10 Specific Gravity

2.86

2.5-2.8

6.1.11 Transparency

Opaque

Translucent to Opaque

6.1.12 Density

2.8-2.9 g/cm³

2.7 g/cm³

6.2 Thermal Properties

6.2.1 Specific Heat Capacity

Banded iron for..

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▶

▼

0.88 kJ/Kg K

Rank: 13 (Overall)▶

0.74 kJ/Kg K

Rank: 19 (Overall)▶

▲

Granulite

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▶

1.09 (Travertine)

◀ ▶ ADD ⊕

6.2.2 Resistance

Heat Resistant, Pressure Resistant

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

7 Reserves

7.1 Deposits in Eastern Continents

7.1.1 Asia

China, India, Indonesia, Japan, North Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand

China, India, Iran, Japan, Oman, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam

7.1.2 Africa

Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, South Africa, Western Africa

Kenya, Morocco, South Africa, Tanzania

7.1.3 Europe

Austria, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Austria, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom

7.1.4 Others

Not Yet Found

Greenland, Mid-Atlantic Ridge

7.2 Deposits in Western Continents

7.2.1 North America

Canada, USA

Canada, Mexico, USA

7.2.2 South America

Colombia

Bolivia, Brazil

7.3 Deposits in Oceania Continent

7.3.1 Australia

Central Australia, New Zealand, Queensland

New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia

Soapstone vs Chert Information

Earth’s outer layer is covered by rocks and these rocks have different physical and chemical properties. As two rocks are not same, it’s fun to compare them. You can also know more about Soapstone and Chert Reserves. It is a metamorphic magnesium rich rock because it is composed of the mineral talc. Chert is a hard, dark, opaque sedimentary rock which is composed of silica with an amorphous fine-grained texture. These rocks are composed of many distinct minerals. The process of formation of rocks is different for various rocks. Rocks are quarried from many years for various purposes. You can check out Soapstone vs Chert information and Soapstone vs Chert characteristics in the upcoming sections.

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Soapstone vs Chert Characteristics

Though some rocks look identical, they have certain characteristics which distinguish them from others. Characteristics of rocks include texture, appearance, color, fracture, streak, hardness etc. Soapstone vs Chert characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Soapstone and Properties of Chert. Learn more about Soapstone vs Chert in the next section. The interior uses of Soapstone include Bathrooms, Decorative aggregates, Homes and Interior decoration whereas the interior uses of Chert include Decorative aggregates and Homes. Due to some exceptional properties of Soapstone and Chert, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Soapstone in construction industry include Manufacture of magnesium and dolomite refractories and that of Chert include Arrowheads, Construction aggregate, Cutting tool, Spear points.

More about Soapstone and Chert

Here you can know more about Soapstone and Chert. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Soapstone and Chert consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Soapstone includes Albite, Apatite, Biotite, Calcite, Carbonate, Clay Minerals, Hornblende, Ilmenite, Micas, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Quartz and mineral content of Chert includes Quartz, Silicon. You can also check out the list of all Metamorphic Rocks. When we have to compare Soapstone vs Chert, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Soapstone is available in black, black to grey, green, grey colors whereas, Chert is available in black, brown, green, grey, red, white colors. Appearance of Soapstone is Dull, Banded and Foilated and that of Chert is Glassy or Pearly. Properties of rock is another aspect for Soapstone vs Chert. The hardness of Soapstone is 1 and that of Chert is 6.5-7. The types of Soapstone are Not Available whereas types of Chert are Flint, Jasper, Radiolarite, Common Chert, Chalcedony, Agate, Onyx, Opal, Magadi-type Chert, Porcelanite, Siliceous Sinter. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Soapstone is black while that of Chert is white. The specific heat capacity of Soapstone is 0.88 kJ/Kg K and that of Chert is 0.74 kJ/Kg K. Depending on the properties like hardness, toughness, specific heat capacity, porosity etc., rocks are resistant to heat, wear, impact, etc.Soapstone is heat resistant, pressure resistant whereas Chert is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant.