Definition
Granulite is fine to medium grained metamorphic rock with a granular of polygonal crystals.
Novaculite is a dense, hard, fine-grained, siliceous metamorpic rock which is a type of chert that breaks with conchoidal fracture
History
Origin
Central Europe
-
Discoverer
Unknown
Unknown
Etymology
From Latin granulum, a little grain or fine grained
From Latin word novacula, for razor stone
Class
Metamorphic Rocks
Sedimentary Rocks
Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Hard Rock
Durable Rock, Hard Rock
Family
Group
-
-
Other Categories
Coarse Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Texture
Granoblastic
Banded, Glassy, Rough, Vitreous
Color
Black, Brown
Black, Brown, Green, Grey, Red, White
Maintenance
Less
Less
Durability
Durable
Durable
Water Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Scratch Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Stain Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Wind Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Acid Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Appearance
Veined or Pebbled
Glassy or Pearly
Architecture
Interior Uses
Bathrooms, Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Flooring, Homes, Hotels, Interior Decoration, Kitchens, Stair Treads
Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Flooring, Interior Decoration
Exterior Uses
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings, Paving Stone
As Building Stone, Garden Decoration
Other Architectural Uses
Curbing
Curbing
Industry
Construction Industry
As Dimension Stone, Building houses or walls
Arrowheads, Building houses or walls, Cement Manufacture, Construction Aggregate, Cutting Tool, for Road Aggregate, Knives, Landscaping, Making natural cement, Production of Glass and Ceramics, Rail Track Ballast, Roadstone, Spear Points, Used to sharpen metal tools and weapons
Medical Industry
-
-
Antiquity Uses
Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture
Artifacts, Monuments
Other Uses
Commercial Uses
Curling, Gemstone, Laboratory bench tops, Soil Conditioner, Tombstones
Cemetery Markers, Gemstone, In aquifers, In fire-starting tools, Jewelry, Manufacture of tools, Pebbles are used in ball mills to grind in ceramics industry, To determine the gold content of jewelry
Types
Metamorphic rock
Sedimentary rock
Features
Clasts are smooth to touch
Clasts are smooth to touch, Easily splits into thin plates, Has High structural resistance against erosion and climate
Archaeological Significance
Monuments
-
-
Famous Monuments
-
-
Sculpture
-
-
Famous Sculptures
-
-
Pictographs
-
-
Petroglyphs
-
-
Figurines
-
-
Fossils
Absent
Present
Formation
Granulite is a fine-grained granular metamorphic rock in which the main component minerals are feldspars and quartz and forms at high temperature and pressure conditions.
Novaculite forms when microcrystals of silicon dioxide grow within soft sediments that become limestone or chalk. The formation of Novaculite can be either of chemical or biological origin.
Composition
Mineral Content
Amphibole, Biotite, Feldspar, Hornblade, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Plagioclase, Quartz
Quartz, Silicon
Compound Content
Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Carbon Dioxide, Iron(III) Oxide, FeO, Potassium Oxide, MgO, MnO, Sodium Oxide, Phosphorus Pentoxide, Sulfur Dioxide, Titanium Dioxide
Ca, Silicon Dioxide
Transformation
Metamorphism
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Metamorphism
-
-
Weathering
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering
-
Erosion
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion
Physical Properties
Hardness
6-77
1
7
👆🏻
Grain Size
Medium to Coarse Grained
Fine Grained
Fracture
-
Conchoidal
Streak
White
-
Porosity
Very Less Porous
Less Porous
Luster
Vitreous
Waxy and Dull
Compressive Strength
175.00 N/mm2450.00 N/mm2
0.15
450
👆🏻
Cleavage
-
-
Toughness
-
1.5
Specific Gravity
2.8-3.02.5-2.7
0
8.4
👆🏻
Transparency
Opaque
Translucent to Opaque
Density
3.06-3.33 g/cm32.7 g/cm3
0
1400
👆🏻
Thermal Properties
Specific Heat Capacity
0.14 kJ/Kg K0.74 kJ/Kg K
0.14
3.2
👆🏻
Resistance
Heat Resistant, Wear Resistant
Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant
Deposits in Eastern Continents
Asia
China, India, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam
China, India, Iran, Japan, Oman, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam
Africa
Angola, Egypt, Madagascar, Nigeria, South Africa
Kenya, Morocco, South Africa, Tanzania
Europe
Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sardinia, Spain, Switzerland, The Czech Republic
Austria, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom
Others
-
Greenland, Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Deposits in Western Continents
North America
Canada, USA
Canada, Mexico, USA
South America
-
Bolivia, Brazil
Deposits in Oceania Continent
Australia
-
New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia