Diorite

Felsite

Diorite vs Felsite

Diorite

Felsite

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Definition

Diorite is a grey to dark-grey intermediate intrusive igneous rock composed principally of plagioclase feldspar,biotite, hornblende, and pyroxene

Felsite is a very fine grained volcanic rock that may or may not contain larger crystals and light colored rock that typically requires petrographic examination or chemical analysis for more precise definition

History

Origin

Discoverer

Unknown

Etymology

From early 19th century coined in French, formed irregularly from Greek diorizein distinguish

From English feldspar and -ite

Class

Igneous Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Hard Rock

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

Family

Group

Plutonic

Volcanic

Other Categories

Coarse Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Texture

Phaneritic

Arborescent Patterned, Vitreous

Color

Black, Brown, Light to Dark Grey, White

Black, Blue, Brown, Green, Orange, Red, Tan, Yellow

Maintenance

Less

Durability

Durable

Water Resistant

✔ ✘

Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

Appearance

Shiny

Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration

Decorative Aggregates, Flooring, Interior Decoration

Exterior Uses

As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration

Paving Stone, Garden Decoration

Other Architectural Uses

Curbing

Industry

Construction Industry

As Dimension Stone, Cement Manufacture, Cobblestones, Construction Aggregate, for Road Aggregate

Arrowheads, Cutting Tool, Knives, Scrapers, Spear Points

Medical Industry

Surgery

Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines

Artifacts

Other Uses

Commercial Uses

Creating Artwork, Curling

Mirror, Jewelry

Types

Plagioclase Diorite and Quartz Diorite

Igneous rock

Features

Typically speckled black and white.

Available in Lots of Colors and Patterns, Clasts are smooth to touch, Splintery, Very fine grained rock

Archaeological Significance

Monuments

Famous Monuments

Sculpture

Famous Sculptures

Pictographs

Petroglyphs

Figurines

Fossils

Absent

Formation

Diorite is a coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock which contains large interlocking and randomly oriented crystals and forms when molten lava does not reach the Earth’s surface and cools down in the Earth’s crust.

Felsite 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.

Composition

Mineral Content

Albite, Amphibole, Apatite, Biotite, Feldspar, Hornblade, Ilmenite, Magnetite, Muscovite or Illite, Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Quartz, Sulfides, Titanite, Zircon

Feldspar, Iron Oxides

Compound Content

Silicon Dioxide

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

Transformation

Metamorphism

✔ ✘

Types of Metamorphism

Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism

Weathering

✔ ✘

Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

Erosion

✔ ✘

Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Water Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Glacier Erosion, Water Erosion

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

6-75-5.5

1 7

👆🏻

Grain Size

Medium to Coarse Grained

Fine Grained

Fracture

Conchoidal

Streak

Bluish Black

White

Porosity

Very Less Porous

Luster

Shiny

Vitreous

Compressive Strength

225.00 N/mm²0.15 N/mm²

0.15 450

👆🏻

Cleavage

Toughness

2.1

Specific Gravity

2.8-32.6-2.7

0 8.4

👆🏻

Transparency

Opaque

Translucent

Density

2.8-3 g/cm³2.6 g/cm³

0 1400

👆🏻

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity

0.84 kJ/Kg K0.92 kJ/Kg K

0.14 3.2

👆🏻

Resistance

Heat Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents

Asia

Afghanistan, Indonesia, Japan, Russia

Africa

Egypt

Kenya

Europe

Finland, Germany, Italy, Romania, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom

Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Turkey

Others

Deposits in Western Continents

North America

USA

Canada, Mexico, USA

South America

Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru

Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Peru

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

New Zealand, Western Australia

New Zealand

Diorite vs Felsite 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 Diorite and Felsite Reserves. Diorite is a grey to dark-grey intermediate intrusive igneous rock composed principally of plagioclase feldspar,biotite, hornblende, and pyroxene. Felsite is a very fine grained volcanic rock that may or may not contain larger crystals and light colored rock that typically requires petrographic examination or chemical analysis for more precise definition. 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 Diorite vs Felsite information and Diorite vs Felsite characteristics in the upcoming sections.

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Diorite vs Felsite 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. Diorite vs Felsite characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Diorite and Properties of Felsite. Learn more about Diorite vs Felsite in the next section. The interior uses of Diorite include Decorative aggregates and Interior decoration whereas the interior uses of Felsite include Decorative aggregates, Flooring and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Diorite and Felsite, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Diorite in construction industry include As dimension stone, Cement manufacture, Cobblestones, Construction aggregate, For road aggregate and that of Felsite include Arrowheads, Cutting tool, Knives, Scrapers, Spear points.

More about Diorite and Felsite

Here you can know more about Diorite and Felsite. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Diorite and Felsite consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Diorite includes Albite, Amphibole, Apatite, Biotite, Feldspar, Hornblade, Ilmenite, Magnetite, Muscovite or Illite, Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Quartz, Sulfides, Titanite, Zircon and mineral content of Felsite includes Feldspar, Iron Oxides. You can also check out the list of all Igneous Rocks. When we have to compare Diorite vs Felsite, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Diorite is available in black, brown, light to dark grey, white colors whereas, Felsite is available in black, blue, brown, green, orange, red, tan, yellow colors. Appearance of Diorite is Shiny and that of Felsite is Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny. Properties of rock is another aspect for Diorite vs Felsite. The hardness of Diorite is 6-7 and that of Felsite is 5-5.5. The types of Diorite are Plagioclase Diorite and Quartz Diorite whereas types of Felsite are Igneous rock. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Diorite is bluish black while that of Felsite is white. The specific heat capacity of Diorite is 0.84 kJ/Kg K and that of Felsite 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.Diorite is heat resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant whereas Felsite is heat resistant, impact resistant.