Coal

Schist

Coal vs Schist

Coal

Schist

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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

Schist is a medium grade metamorphic rock with medium to large, flat, sheet like grains in a preferred orientation

1.2 History

1.2.1 Origin

USA

Unknown

1.2.2 Discoverer

John Peter Salley

Unknown

1.3 Etymology

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

From French schiste, Greek skhistos i.e. split

1.4 Class

Sedimentary Rocks

Metamorphic Rocks

1.4.1 Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Soft Rock

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

1.5 Family

1.5.1 Group

Not Applicable

1.6 Other Categories

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

2 Texture

2.1 Texture

Amorphous, Glassy

Foliated, Platy

2.2 Color

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

Black, Blue, Brown, Dark Brown, Green, Grey, Silver

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

Layered and Shiny

3 Uses

3.1 Architecture

3.1.1 Interior Uses

Not Yet Used

Decorative Aggregates, Floor Tiles, Interior Decoration

3.1.2 Exterior Uses

Not Yet Used

Garden Decoration, Paving Stone

3.1.3 Other Architectural Uses

Not Yet Used

3.2 Industry

3.2.1 Construction Industry

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

As Dimension Stone, Building houses or walls, Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Roadstone

3.2.2 Medical Industry

Not Yet Used

3.3 Antiquity Uses

Artifacts

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

Used in aquariums, Writing Slates

4 Types

4.1 Types

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

Mica Schists, Calc-Silicate Schists, Graphite Schists, Blueschists, Whiteschists, Greenschists, Hornblende Schist, Talc Schist, Chlorite Schist, Garnet Schist, Glaucophane schist.

4.2 Features

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

Easily splits into thin plates, Smooth to touch

4.3 Archaeological Significance

4.3.1 Monuments

Not Yet Used

4.3.2 Famous Monuments

Not Applicable

4.3.3 Sculpture

Not Yet Used

4.3.4 Famous Sculptures

Not Applicable

4.3.5 Pictographs

Not Used

Used

4.3.6 Petroglyphs

Not Used

Used

4.3.7 Figurines

Not Yet 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.

Schist formed by dynamic metamorphism at high temperatures and pressures that aligns the grains of mica, hornblende and other elongated minerals into thin layers.

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

Alusite, Amphibole, Biotite, Chlorite, Epidote, Feldspar, Garnet, Graphite, Hornblade, Kyanite, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Porphyroblasts, Quartz, Sillimanite, Staurolite, Talc

5.2.2 Compound Content

Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Sulphur

CaO, Carbon Dioxide, MgO

5.3 Transformation

5.3.1 Metamorphism

✔ ✘

5.3.2 Types of Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism

Not Applicable

5.3.3 Weathering

✔ ✘

5.3.4 Types of Weathering

Not Applicable

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

5.3.5 Erosion

✔ ✘

5.3.6 Types of Erosion

Not Applicable

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion

6 Properties

6.1 Physical Properties

6.1.1 Hardness

1-1.53.5-4

1 7

6.1.2 Grain Size

Medium to Fine Coarse Grained

6.1.3 Fracture

Conchoidal

6.1.4 Streak

Black

White

6.1.5 Porosity

Less Porous

Highly Porous

6.1.6 Luster

Dull to Vitreous to Submetallic

Shiny

6.1.7 Compressive Strength

NANA

0.15 450

6.1.8 Cleavage

Non-Existent

Slaty

6.1.9 Toughness

Not Available

1.5

6.1.10 Specific Gravity

1.1-1.42.5-2.9

0 8.4

6.1.11 Transparency

Opaque

6.1.12 Density

1100-1400 g/cm³2.8-2.9 g/cm³

0 1400

6.2 Thermal Properties

6.2.1 Specific Heat Capacity

1.32 kJ/Kg KNA

0.14 3.2

6.2.2 Resistance

Heat Resistant

Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Water 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

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam

7.1.2 Africa

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

Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, 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

Austria, England, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland

7.1.4 Others

Not Yet Found

7.2 Deposits in Western Continents

7.2.1 North America

Canada, Mexico, USA

Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, USA

7.2.2 South America

Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela

Brazil, Colombia, Guyana

7.3 Deposits in Oceania Continent

7.3.1 Australia

New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria

New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland

Coal vs Schist 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 Schist Reserves. Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers called coal beds. Schist is a medium grade metamorphic rock with medium to large, flat, sheet like grains in a preferred orientation. 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 Schist information and Coal vs Schist characteristics in the upcoming sections.

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Coal vs Schist 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 Schist characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Coal and Properties of Schist. Learn more about Coal vs Schist in the next section. The interior uses of Coal include Not yet used whereas the interior uses of Schist include Decorative aggregates, Floor tiles and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Coal and Schist, 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 Schist include As dimension stone, Building houses or walls, Cement manufacture, For road aggregate, Roadstone.

More about Coal and Schist

Here you can know more about Coal and Schist. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Coal and Schist 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 Schist includes Alusite, Amphibole, Biotite, Chlorite, Epidote, Feldspar, Garnet, Graphite, Hornblade, Kyanite, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Porphyroblasts, Quartz, Sillimanite, Staurolite, Talc. You can also check out the list of all Sedimentary Rocks. When we have to compare Coal vs Schist, 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, Schist is available in black, blue, brown, dark brown, green, grey, silver colors. Appearance of Coal is Veined or Pebbled and that of Schist is Layered and Shiny. Properties of rock is another aspect for Coal vs Schist. The hardness of Coal is 1-1.5 and that of Schist is 3.5-4. The types of Coal are Peat, Lignite, Sub-Bituminous Coal, Bituminous Coal, Anthracite, Graphite whereas types of Schist are Mica Schists, Calc-Silicate Schists, Graphite Schists, Blueschists, Whiteschists, Greenschists, Hornblende Schist, Talc Schist, Chlorite Schist, Garnet Schist, Glaucophane schist.. 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 Schist is white. The specific heat capacity of Coal is 1.32 kJ/Kg K and that of Schist is Not Available. 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 Schist is impact resistant, pressure resistant, water resistant.