Definition
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers called coal beds
Wehrlite is an ultramafic and ultrabasic rock that is a mixture of olivine and clinopyroxene. It is a subdivision of the peridotites
Discoverer
John Peter Salley
Alois Wehrle
Etymology
From the Old English term col, which has meant mineral of fossilized carbon since the 13th century
From the name of a professor, Alois Wehrle
Class
Sedimentary Rocks
Igneous Rocks
Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Soft Rock
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock
Other Categories
Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Texture
Amorphous, Glassy
Banded
Color
Black, Brown, Dark Brown, Grey, Light to Dark Grey
Dark Greenish - Grey, Green
Durability
Durable
Durable
Appearance
Veined or Pebbled
Rough and Banded
Interior Uses
-
Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration
Exterior Uses
-
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration, Paving Stone
Other Architectural Uses
-
Curbing
Construction Industry
Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Making natural cement, Steel Production
As Dimension Stone, Cobblestones
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
Cemetery Markers, Creating Artwork, Gemstone, Jewelry
Types
Peat, Lignite, Sub-Bituminous Coal, Bituminous Coal, Anthracite, Graphite
Ultramafic rock
Features
Helps in production of Heat and Electricity, Used as fossil fuel
Constitutes upper part of the Earth's mantle, Generally rough to touch, Is one of the oldest rock
Archaeological Significance
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.
Wehrlite 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.
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
Pyroxene
Compound Content
Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Sulphur
Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Carbon Dioxide, Iron(III) Oxide, FeO, Potassium Oxide, MgO, Sodium Oxide, Phosphorus Pentoxide, Silicon Dioxide, Titanium Dioxide
Types of Metamorphism
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism
Types of Weathering
-
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
Types of Erosion
-
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Water Erosion
Grain Size
Medium to Fine Coarse Grained
Coarse Grained
Fracture
Conchoidal
Irregular
Porosity
Less Porous
Less Porous
Luster
Dull to Vitreous to Submetallic
Metallic
Specific Gravity
1.1-1.4
8.4
Transparency
Opaque
Opaque
Density
1100-1400 g/cm3
2.6-3.7 g/cm3
Resistance
Heat Resistant
Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant
Deposits in Eastern Continents
Asia
Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Turkey, Vietnam
China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey
Africa
Botswana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania
Morocco, South Africa
Europe
Belgium, Bulgaria, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, The Czech Republic, Ukraine, United Kingdom
Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland
Deposits in Western Continents
North America
Canada, Mexico, USA
Canada, USA
South America
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela
Brazil
Deposits in Oceania Continent
Australia
New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria
New Zealand, Western Australia
Coal vs Wehrlite 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 Wehrlite characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Coal and Properties of Wehrlite. Learn more about Coal vs Wehrlite in the next section. The interior uses of Coal include whereas the interior uses of Wehrlite include Decorative aggregates and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Coal and Wehrlite, 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 Wehrlite include As dimension stone, Cobblestones.
More about Coal and Wehrlite
Here you can know more about Coal and Wehrlite. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Coal and Wehrlite 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 Wehrlite includes Pyroxene. You can also check out the list of all Sedimentary Rocks. When we have to compare Coal vs Wehrlite, 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, Wehrlite is available in dark greenish - grey, green colors. Appearance of Coal is Veined or Pebbled and that of Wehrlite is Rough and Banded. Properties of rock is another aspect for Coal vs Wehrlite. The hardness of Coal is 1-1.5 and that of Wehrlite is 5.5-6. The types of Coal are Peat, Lignite, Sub-Bituminous Coal, Bituminous Coal, Anthracite, Graphite whereas types of Wehrlite are Ultramafic rock. 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 Wehrlite is white. The specific heat capacity of Coal is 1.32 kJ/Kg K and that of Wehrlite is 0.63 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 Wehrlite is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant.