Coal

Basalt

Coal vs Basalt

Coal

Basalt

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1 Definition

1.1 Definition

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers called coal beds

Basalt is a common extrusive igneous rock formed by the rapid cooling of basaltic lava exposed at or very near the surface of Earth

1.2 History

1.2.1 Origin

USA

Egypt

1.2.2 Discoverer

John Peter Salley

Georgius Agricola

1.3 Etymology

From the Old English term col, which has meant mineral of fossilized carbon since the 13th century

From Late Latin Basaltes (variant of basanites ), very hard stone, which was imported from Ancient Greek Basanites

1.4 Class

Sedimentary Rocks

Igneous Rocks

1.4.1 Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Soft Rock

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

1.5 Family

1.5.1 Group

Not Applicable

Volcanic

1.6 Other Categories

Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

2 Texture

2.1 Texture

Amorphous, Glassy

Glassy, Massive, Porphyritic, Scoriaceous, Vesicular

2.2 Color

Black, Brown, Dark Brown, Grey, Light to Dark Grey

Black, Brown, Light to Dark Grey

2.3 Maintenance

Less

2.4 Durability

Durable

2.4.1 Water Resistant

✔ ✘

2.4.2 Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

2.4.3 Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

2.4.4 Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

2.4.5 Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

2.5 Appearance

Veined or Pebbled

Dull and Soft

3 Uses

3.1 Architecture

3.1.1 Interior Uses

Not Yet Used

Floor Tiles, Homes, Hotels, Kitchens

3.1.2 Exterior Uses

Not Yet Used

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

3.1.3 Other Architectural Uses

Not Yet Used

Curbing, Whetstones

3.2 Industry

3.2.1 Construction Industry

Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Making natural cement, Steel Production

Arrowheads, As Dimension Stone, Cobblestones, Cutting Tool, Rail Track Ballast, Roadstone

3.2.2 Medical Industry

Not Yet Used

3.3 Antiquity Uses

Artifacts

Artifacts, Monuments

3.4 Other Uses

3.4.1 Commercial Uses

Alumina Refineries, Electricity Generation, Liquid Fuel, Manufacture of Soap, Solvents, Dyes, Plastics and Fibres, Paper Industry

An Oil and Gas Reservoir, Commemorative Tablets, Creating Artwork, Used in aquariums

4 Types

4.1 Types

Peat, Lignite, Sub-Bituminous Coal, Bituminous Coal, Anthracite, Graphite

Alkaline Basalt, Boninite, High Alumina Basalt, Mid Ocean Ridge Basalt (MORB), Tholeiitic Basalt, Basaltic trachyandesite, Mugearite and Shoshonite

4.2 Features

Helps in production of Heat and Electricity, Used as fossil fuel

Has High structural resistance against erosion and climate, Very fine grained rock

4.3 Archaeological Significance

4.3.1 Monuments

Not Yet Used

Used

4.3.2 Famous Monuments

Not Applicable

Easter Island in the Polynesian Triangle, Pacific Ocean, Gateway of India in Mumbai, India, Gol Gumbaz in Karnataka, India

4.3.3 Sculpture

Not Yet Used

Used

4.3.4 Famous Sculptures

Not Applicable

Data Not Available

4.3.5 Pictographs

Not Used

Used

4.3.6 Petroglyphs

Not Used

Used

4.3.7 Figurines

Not Yet Used

Used

4.4 Fossils

Present

Absent

5 Formation

5.1 Formation

Coal forms from the accumulation of plant debris in a swamp environment which is buried by sediments such as mud or sand and then compacted to form coal.

Basalt forms when lava reaches the Earth's surface near an active volcano. The temperature of lava is between 1100 to 1250° C when it gets to the surface.

5.2 Composition

5.2.1 Mineral Content

Analcime, Apatite, Barite, Calcite, Chalcopyrite, Chlorite, Chromite, Clausthalite, Clay Minerals, Crandallite Group, Dolomite, Feldspar, Galena, Gypsum, Marcasite, Muscovite or Illite, Pyrite, Quartz, Siderite, Sphalerite, Zircon

Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene

5.2.2 Compound Content

Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Sulphur

Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, FeO, Potassium Oxide, MgO, MnO, Sodium Oxide, Phosphorus Pentoxide, Silicon Dioxide, Titanium Dioxide

5.3 Transformation

5.3.1 Metamorphism

✔ ✘

5.3.2 Types of Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism

Contact Metamorphism

5.3.3 Weathering

✔ ✘

5.3.4 Types of Weathering

Not Applicable

Biological Weathering

5.3.5 Erosion

✔ ✘

5.3.6 Types of Erosion

Not Applicable

Not Available

6 Properties

6.1 Physical Properties

6.1.1 Hardness

1-1.56

1 7

6.1.2 Grain Size

Medium to Fine Coarse Grained

Fine Grained

6.1.3 Fracture

Conchoidal

6.1.4 Streak

Black

White to Grey

6.1.5 Porosity

Less Porous

6.1.6 Luster

Dull to Vitreous to Submetallic

Not Available

6.1.7 Compressive Strength

NA37.40 N/mm²

0.15 450

6.1.8 Cleavage

Non-Existent

Not Available

6.1.9 Toughness

Not Available

2.3

6.1.10 Specific Gravity

1.1-1.42.8-3

0 8.4

6.1.11 Transparency

Opaque

6.1.12 Density

1100-1400 g/cm³2.9-3.1 g/cm³

0 1400

6.2 Thermal Properties

6.2.1 Specific Heat Capacity

1.32 kJ/Kg K0.84 kJ/Kg K

0.14 3.2

6.2.2 Resistance

Heat Resistant

Heat Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

7 Reserves

7.1 Deposits in Eastern Continents

7.1.1 Asia

Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Turkey, Vietnam

India, Russia

7.1.2 Africa

Botswana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania

South Africa

7.1.3 Europe

Belgium, Bulgaria, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, The Czech Republic, Ukraine, United Kingdom

Iceland

7.1.4 Others

Not Yet Found

7.2 Deposits in Western Continents

7.2.1 North America

Canada, Mexico, USA

Canada, USA

7.2.2 South America

Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela

Brazil

7.3 Deposits in Oceania Continent

7.3.1 Australia

New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria

Not Yet Found

Coal vs Basalt 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 Coal and Basalt Reserves. Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers called coal beds. Basalt is a common extrusive igneous rock formed by the rapid cooling of basaltic lava exposed at or very near the surface of Earth. 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 Coal vs Basalt information and Coal vs Basalt characteristics in the upcoming sections.

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Coal vs Basalt 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. Coal vs Basalt characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Coal and Properties of Basalt. Learn more about Coal vs Basalt in the next section. The interior uses of Coal include Not yet used whereas the interior uses of Basalt include Floor tiles, Homes, Hotels and Kitchens. Due to some exceptional properties of Coal and Basalt, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Coal in construction industry include Cement manufacture, For road aggregate, Making natural cement, Steel production and that of Basalt include Arrowheads, As dimension stone, Cobblestones, Cutting tool, Rail track ballast, Roadstone.

More about Coal and Basalt

Here you can know more about Coal and Basalt. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Coal and Basalt consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Coal includes Analcime, Apatite, Barite, Calcite, Chalcopyrite, Chlorite, Chromite, Clausthalite, Clay Minerals, Crandallite Group, Dolomite, Feldspar, Galena, Gypsum, Marcasite, Muscovite or Illite, Pyrite, Quartz, Siderite, Sphalerite, Zircon and mineral content of Basalt includes Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene. You can also check out the list of all Sedimentary Rocks. When we have to compare Coal vs Basalt, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Coal is available in black, brown, dark brown, grey, light to dark grey colors whereas, Basalt is available in black, brown, light to dark grey colors. Appearance of Coal is Veined or Pebbled and that of Basalt is Dull and Soft. Properties of rock is another aspect for Coal vs Basalt. The hardness of Coal is 1-1.5 and that of Basalt is 6. The types of Coal are Peat, Lignite, Sub-Bituminous Coal, Bituminous Coal, Anthracite, Graphite whereas types of Basalt are Alkaline Basalt, Boninite, High Alumina Basalt, Mid Ocean Ridge Basalt (MORB), Tholeiitic Basalt, Basaltic trachyandesite, Mugearite and Shoshonite. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Coal is black while that of Basalt is white to grey. The specific heat capacity of Coal is 1.32 kJ/Kg K and that of Basalt is 0.84 kJ/Kg K. Depending on the properties like hardness, toughness, specific heat capacity, porosity etc., rocks are resistant to heat, wear, impact, etc.Coal is heat resistant whereas Basalt is heat resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant.