Chert

Picrite

Chert vs Picrite

Chert

Picrite

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1 Definition

1.1 Definition

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

Picrite is a variety of high-magnesium olivine basalt that is very rich in the mineral olivine

1.2 History

1.2.1 Origin

Unknown

Hawaii Islands

1.2.2 Discoverer

Unknown

1.3 Etymology

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

From Greek pikros bitter + -ite, 19th century

1.4 Class

Sedimentary Rocks

Igneous Rocks

1.4.1 Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Hard Rock

1.5 Family

1.5.1 Group

Not Applicable

Volcanic

1.6 Other Categories

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

2 Texture

2.1 Texture

Banded, Rough

Earthy, Rough

2.2 Color

Black, Brown, Green, Grey, Red, White

Black, Brown, Colourless, Green, Grey, Pink, White, Yellow

2.3 Maintenance

Less

2.4 Durability

Durable

2.4.1 Water Resistant

✔ ✘

59% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

81% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.2 Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

62% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

86% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.3 Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

43% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

66% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.4 Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

38% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

49% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.5 Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

22% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

48% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

2.5 Appearance

Glassy or Pearly

Rough and Shiny

3 Uses

3.1 Architecture

3.1.1 Interior Uses

Decorative Aggregates, Homes

Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Homes, Interior Decoration

3.1.2 Exterior Uses

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

As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration, Paving Stone

3.1.3 Other Architectural Uses

Curbing

3.2 Industry

3.2.1 Construction Industry

Arrowheads, Construction Aggregate, Cutting Tool, Spear Points

As a Sintering Agent in Steel Industry to process Iron Ore, Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Manufacture of Magnesium and Dolomite Refractories, Roadstone, Used for flooring, stair treads, borders and window sills.

3.2.2 Medical Industry

Not Yet Used

3.3 Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Monuments

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture

3.4 Other Uses

3.4.1 Commercial Uses

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

As a Feed Additive for Livestock, As armour rock for sea walls, Metallurgical Flux, Pottery, Source of Magnesia (MgO)

4 Types

4.1 Types

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

Oceanite

4.2 Features

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

Host Rock for Lead

4.3 Archaeological Significance

4.3.1 Monuments

Used

4.3.2 Famous Monuments

Data Not Available

4.3.3 Sculpture

Not Yet Used

Used

4.3.4 Famous Sculptures

Not Applicable

Data Not Available

4.3.5 Pictographs

Not Used

4.3.6 Petroglyphs

Not Used

4.3.7 Figurines

Not Yet Used

Used

4.4 Fossils

Present

Absent

5 Formation

5.1 Formation

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.

Picrite is a fine-grained, hard rock which is a type of metasomatite, essentially altered basalt. It forms with or without crystallization, either below the surface as intrusive rocks or on the surface as extrusive rocks.

5.2 Composition

5.2.1 Mineral Content

Quartz, Silicon

Biotite, Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyrrhotite

5.2.2 Compound Content

Silicon Dioxide

Al, CaO, Carbon Dioxide, Mg, MgO

5.3 Transformation

5.3.1 Metamorphism

✔ ✘

19% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

97% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.2 Types of Metamorphism

Not Applicable

Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism

5.3.3 Weathering

✔ ✘

78% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

99% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.4 Types of Weathering

Not Applicable

Biological Weathering

5.3.5 Erosion

✔ ✘

86% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

92% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.6 Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion, Sea Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion

6 Properties

6.1 Physical Properties

6.1.1 Hardness

6.5-7

6.8

6.1.2 Grain Size

Very fine-grained

Fine Grained

6.1.3 Fracture

Uneven, Splintery or Conchoidal

Uneven

6.1.4 Streak

White

White, Greenish White or Grey

6.1.5 Porosity

Highly Porous

Less Porous

6.1.6 Luster

Waxy and Dull

Subvitreous to Dull

6.1.7 Compressive Strength

Flint

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▶

▼

450.00 N/mm²

Rank: 1 (Overall)▶

189.00 N/mm²

Rank: 11 (Overall)▶

▲

Obsidian

⊕

▶

175 (Granite)

◀ ▶ ADD ⊕

6.1.8 Cleavage

Non-Existent

Imperfect

6.1.9 Toughness

1.5

2.1

6.1.10 Specific Gravity

2.5-2.8

2.75-2.92

6.1.11 Transparency

Translucent to Opaque

Opaque

6.1.12 Density

2.7 g/cm³

1.5-2.5 g/cm³

6.2 Thermal Properties

6.2.1 Specific Heat Capacity

Banded iron for..

⊕

▶

▼

0.74 kJ/Kg K

Rank: 19 (Overall)▶

0.88 kJ/Kg K

Rank: 13 (Overall)▶

▲

Granulite

⊕

▶

1.09 (Travertine)

◀ ▶ ADD ⊕

6.2.2 Resistance

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

Heat Resistant

7 Reserves

7.1 Deposits in Eastern Continents

7.1.1 Asia

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

India, Russia

7.1.2 Africa

Kenya, Morocco, South Africa, Tanzania

South Africa

7.1.3 Europe

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

Iceland

7.1.4 Others

Greenland, Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Not Yet Found

7.2 Deposits in Western Continents

7.2.1 North America

Canada, Mexico, USA

Canada, USA

7.2.2 South America

Bolivia, Brazil

Brazil

7.3 Deposits in Oceania Continent

7.3.1 Australia

New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia

Not Yet Found

Chert vs Picrite 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 Chert and Picrite Reserves. Chert is a hard, dark, opaque sedimentary rock which is composed of silica with an amorphous fine-grained texture. Picrite is a variety of high-magnesium olivine basalt that is very rich in the mineral olivine. 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 Chert vs Picrite information and Chert vs Picrite characteristics in the upcoming sections.

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Chert vs Picrite 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. Chert vs Picrite characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Chert and Properties of Picrite. Learn more about Chert vs Picrite in the next section. The interior uses of Chert include Decorative aggregates and Homes whereas the interior uses of Picrite include Countertops, Decorative aggregates, Homes and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Chert and Picrite, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Chert in construction industry include Arrowheads, Construction aggregate, Cutting tool, Spear points and that of Picrite include As a sintering agent in steel industry to process iron ore, Cement manufacture, For road aggregate, Manufacture of magnesium and dolomite refractories, Roadstone, Used for flooring, stair treads, borders and window sills..

More about Chert and Picrite

Here you can know more about Chert and Picrite. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Chert and Picrite consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Chert includes Quartz, Silicon and mineral content of Picrite includes Biotite, Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyrrhotite. You can also check out the list of all Sedimentary Rocks. When we have to compare Chert vs Picrite, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Chert is available in black, brown, green, grey, red, white colors whereas, Picrite is available in black, brown, colourless, green, grey, pink, white, yellow colors. Appearance of Chert is Glassy or Pearly and that of Picrite is Rough and Shiny. Properties of rock is another aspect for Chert vs Picrite. The hardness of Chert is 6.5-7 and that of Picrite is 6.8. The types of Chert are Flint, Jasper, Radiolarite, Common Chert, Chalcedony, Agate, Onyx, Opal, Magadi-type Chert, Porcelanite, Siliceous Sinter whereas types of Picrite are Oceanite. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Chert is white while that of Picrite is white, greenish white or grey. The specific heat capacity of Chert is 0.74 kJ/Kg K and that of Picrite is 0.88 kJ/Kg K. Depending on the properties like hardness, toughness, specific heat capacity, porosity etc., rocks are resistant to heat, wear, impact, etc.Chert is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant whereas Picrite is heat resistant.