Definition
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers called coal beds
Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption
Discoverer
John Peter Salley
Unknown
Etymology
From the Old English term col, which has meant mineral of fossilized carbon since the 13th century
From a Latin word tophous then in Italian tufo and finally tuff
Class
Sedimentary Rocks
Igneous Rocks
Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Soft Rock
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock
Group
Not Applicable
Volcanic
Other Categories
Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Texture
Amorphous, Glassy
Clastic, Pyroclastic
Color
Black, Brown, Dark Brown, Grey, Light to Dark Grey
Brown, Grey, Yellow
Durability
Durable
Durable
Appearance
Veined or Pebbled
Dull, Vesicular and Foilated
Interior Uses
Not Yet Used
Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Flooring, Homes, Interior Decoration
Exterior Uses
Not Yet Used
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings, Paving Stone
Other Architectural Uses
Not Yet Used
Curbing
Construction Industry
Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Making natural cement, Steel Production
Building houses or walls, Construction Aggregate
Medical Industry
Not Yet Used
Not Yet Used
Antiquity Uses
Artifacts
Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines
Commercial Uses
Alumina Refineries, Electricity Generation, Liquid Fuel, Manufacture of Soap, Solvents, Dyes, Plastics and Fibres, Paper Industry
Creating Artwork
Types
Peat, Lignite, Sub-Bituminous Coal, Bituminous Coal, Anthracite, Graphite
Welded tuff, Rhyolitic tuff, Basaltic tuff, Trachyte tuff, Andesitic tuff and Ignimbrite.
Features
Helps in production of Heat and Electricity, Used as fossil fuel
Always found as volcanic pipes over deep continental crust
Archaeological Significance
Monuments
Not Yet Used
Used
Famous Monuments
Not Applicable
Easter Island in the Polynesian Triangle, Pacific Ocean
Sculpture
Not Yet Used
Used
Famous Sculptures
Not Applicable
Data Not Available
Pictographs
Not Used
Used
Petroglyphs
Not Used
Used
Figurines
Not Yet Used
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.
Tuff is formed when large masses of ash and sand which are mixed with hot gases are ejected by a volcano and avalanche rapidly down its slopes.
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
Calcite, Chlorite
Compound Content
Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Sulphur
Hydrogen Sulfide, Sulfur Dioxide
Types of Metamorphism
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism, Hydrothermal Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism
Types of Weathering
Not Applicable
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
Types of Erosion
Not Applicable
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion, Sea Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion
Grain Size
Medium to Fine Coarse Grained
Fine Grained
Fracture
Conchoidal
Uneven
Porosity
Less Porous
Highly Porous
Luster
Dull to Vitreous to Submetallic
Vitreous to Dull
Compressive Strength
Not Available
Cleavage
Non-Existent
Not Available
Toughness
Not Available
Not Available
Specific Gravity
1.1-1.4
2.73
Transparency
Opaque
Opaque
Density
1100-1400 g/cm3
1-1.8 g/cm3
Resistance
Heat Resistant
Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant
Deposits in Eastern Continents
Asia
Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Turkey, Vietnam
Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam, Yemen
Africa
Botswana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania
Cameroon, Cape Verde, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda
Europe
Belgium, Bulgaria, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, The Czech Republic, Ukraine, United Kingdom
France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom
Others
Not Yet Found
Antarctica, Hawaii Islands
Deposits in Western Continents
North America
Canada, Mexico, USA
Canada, Costa Rica, Panama, USA
South America
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay
Deposits in Oceania Continent
Australia
New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria
Central Australia, Western Australia
Coal vs Tuff 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 Tuff characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Coal and Properties of Tuff. Learn more about Coal vs Tuff in the next section. The interior uses of Coal include Not yet used whereas the interior uses of Tuff include Decorative aggregates, Entryways, Flooring, Homes and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Coal and Tuff, 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 Tuff include Building houses or walls, Construction aggregate.
More about Coal and Tuff
Here you can know more about Coal and Tuff. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Coal and Tuff 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 Tuff includes Calcite, Chlorite. You can also check out the list of all Sedimentary Rocks. When we have to compare Coal vs Tuff, 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, Tuff is available in brown, grey, yellow colors. Appearance of Coal is Veined or Pebbled and that of Tuff is Dull, Vesicular and Foilated. Properties of rock is another aspect for Coal vs Tuff. The hardness of Coal is 1-1.5 and that of Tuff is 4-6. The types of Coal are Peat, Lignite, Sub-Bituminous Coal, Bituminous Coal, Anthracite, Graphite whereas types of Tuff are Welded tuff, Rhyolitic tuff, Basaltic tuff, Trachyte tuff, Andesitic tuff and Ignimbrite.. 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 Tuff is white. The specific heat capacity of Coal is 1.32 kJ/Kg K and that of Tuff is 0.20 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 Tuff is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant.