Definition
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers called coal beds
Very fine grained fault rock which is composed of glassy matrix that often contains inclusions of wall-rock fragments.
Discoverer
John Peter Salley
Unknown
Etymology
From the Old English term col, which has meant mineral of fossilized carbon since the 13th century
From pseudo- + tachylite, a glassy rock generated by frictional heat within faults.
Class
Sedimentary Rocks
Metamorphic Rocks
Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Soft Rock
Durable Rock, Hard Rock
Group
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Other Categories
Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Texture
Amorphous, Glassy
Quench
Color
Black, Brown, Dark Brown, Grey, Light to Dark Grey
Black, Brown, Colourless, Green, Grey, Pink, White
Durability
Durable
Durable
Appearance
Veined or Pebbled
Dull and Soft
Interior Uses
Not Yet Used
Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Interior Decoration
Exterior Uses
Not Yet Used
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration
Other Architectural Uses
Not Yet Used
Curbing
Construction Industry
Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Making natural cement, Steel Production
As Dimension Stone, Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Making natural cement
Medical Industry
Not Yet Used
Not Yet Used
Antiquity Uses
Artifacts
Artifacts, Monuments
Commercial Uses
Alumina Refineries, Electricity Generation, Liquid Fuel, Manufacture of Soap, Solvents, Dyes, Plastics and Fibres, Paper Industry
Creating Artwork, Gemstone
Types
Peat, Lignite, Sub-Bituminous Coal, Bituminous Coal, Anthracite, Graphite
Not Available
Features
Helps in production of Heat and Electricity, Used as fossil fuel
Host Rock for Lead
Archaeological Significance
Monuments
Not Yet Used
Used
Famous Monuments
Not Applicable
Data Not Available
Sculpture
Not Yet Used
Not Yet Used
Famous Sculptures
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Pictographs
Not Used
Not Used
Petroglyphs
Not Used
Not Used
Figurines
Not Yet Used
Not Yet Used
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.
Due to change in environmental conditions, rocks are heated and pressurized deep inside the Earth's surface. Pseudotachylite is formed from the extreme heat caused by magma or by the intense collisions and friction of tectonic plates.
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
Iron Oxides, Pyroxene, Quartz, Stishovite, Sulfides
Compound Content
Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Sulphur
Carbon Dioxide, Silicon Dioxide, Sulfur Dioxide, Sulphur
Types of Metamorphism
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism
Types of Weathering
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Types of Erosion
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Grain Size
Medium to Fine Coarse Grained
Very fine-grained
Fracture
Conchoidal
Uneven
Streak
Black
Light to dark brown
Porosity
Less Porous
Less Porous
Luster
Dull to Vitreous to Submetallic
Vitreous
Compressive Strength
Not Available
Cleavage
Non-Existent
Irregular
Toughness
Not Available
Not Available
Specific Gravity
1.1-1.4
2.46-2.86
Transparency
Opaque
Transparent to Translucent
Density
1100-1400 g/cm3
2.7-2.9 g/cm3
Resistance
Heat Resistant
Heat Resistant
Deposits in Eastern Continents
Asia
Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Turkey, Vietnam
South Korea
Africa
Botswana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania
Western Africa
Europe
Belgium, Bulgaria, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, The Czech Republic, Ukraine, United Kingdom
Great Britain, Switzerland
Others
Not Yet Found
Not Yet Found
Deposits in Western Continents
North America
Canada, Mexico, USA
Not Yet Found
South America
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela
Not Yet Found
Deposits in Oceania Continent
Australia
New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria
Central Australia, Western Australia
Coal vs Pseudotachylite 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 Pseudotachylite characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Coal and Properties of Pseudotachylite. Learn more about Coal vs Pseudotachylite in the next section. The interior uses of Coal include Not yet used whereas the interior uses of Pseudotachylite include Decorative aggregates, Entryways and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Coal and Pseudotachylite, 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 Pseudotachylite include As dimension stone, Cement manufacture, For road aggregate, Making natural cement.
More about Coal and Pseudotachylite
Here you can know more about Coal and Pseudotachylite. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Coal and Pseudotachylite 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 Pseudotachylite includes Iron Oxides, Pyroxene, Quartz, Stishovite, Sulfides. You can also check out the list of all Sedimentary Rocks. When we have to compare Coal vs Pseudotachylite, 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, Pseudotachylite is available in black, brown, colourless, green, grey, pink, white colors. Appearance of Coal is Veined or Pebbled and that of Pseudotachylite is Dull and Soft. Properties of rock is another aspect for Coal vs Pseudotachylite. The hardness of Coal is 1-1.5 and that of Pseudotachylite is 7. The types of Coal are Peat, Lignite, Sub-Bituminous Coal, Bituminous Coal, Anthracite, Graphite whereas types of Pseudotachylite are Not Available. 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 Pseudotachylite is light to dark brown. The specific heat capacity of Coal is 1.32 kJ/Kg K and that of Pseudotachylite is 0.92 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 Pseudotachylite is heat resistant.