Nepheline Syenite

Basalt

Nepheline Syenite vs Basalt

Nepheline Syenite

Basalt

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1 Definition

1.1 Definition

Nepheline Syenite is a holocrystalline plutonic rock resembling syenite but containing nepheline and lacking quartz

Basalt is a common extrusive igneous rock formed by the rapid cooling of basaltic lava exposed at or very near the surface of Earth

1.2 History

1.2.1 Origin

Unknown

Egypt

1.2.2 Discoverer

Unknown

Georgius Agricola

1.3 Etymology

From origin of a Palaeozoic nepheline syenite from northern Shanxi Province, China

From Late Latin Basaltes (variant of basanites ), very hard stone, which was imported from Ancient Greek Basanites

1.4 Class

Igneous Rocks

1.4.1 Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

1.5 Family

1.5.1 Group

Plutonic

Volcanic

1.6 Other Categories

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

2 Texture

2.1 Texture

Granular

Glassy, Massive, Porphyritic, Scoriaceous, Vesicular

2.2 Color

Brown, Buff, Cream, Green, Grey, Pink, White

Black, Brown, Light to Dark Grey

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

Banded and Foilated

Dull and Soft

3 Uses

3.1 Architecture

3.1.1 Interior Uses

Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Flooring, Homes, Interior Decoration

Floor Tiles, Homes, Hotels, Kitchens

3.1.2 Exterior Uses

As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration, Paving Stone

As Building Stone, Paving Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings

3.1.3 Other Architectural Uses

Curbing

Curbing, Whetstones

3.2 Industry

3.2.1 Construction Industry

As Dimension Stone, Cement Manufacture, Construction Aggregate, for Road Aggregate, Landscaping, Making natural cement, Manufacture of Magnesium and Dolomite Refractories, Production of Glass and Ceramics

Arrowheads, As Dimension Stone, Cobblestones, Cutting Tool, Rail Track Ballast, Roadstone

3.2.2 Medical Industry

Not Yet Used

3.3 Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture

Artifacts, Monuments

3.4 Other Uses

3.4.1 Commercial Uses

Cemetery Markers, Creating Artwork

An Oil and Gas Reservoir, Commemorative Tablets, Creating Artwork, Used in aquariums

4 Types

4.1 Types

Borolanite and Litchfieldite

Alkaline Basalt, Boninite, High Alumina Basalt, Mid Ocean Ridge Basalt (MORB), Tholeiitic Basalt, Basaltic trachyandesite, Mugearite and Shoshonite

4.2 Features

Application of acids on the surface causes cloudy frosting, Available in Lots of Colors and Patterns, Dissolves in hydrochloric acid, Is one of the oldest rock

Has High structural resistance against erosion and climate, Very fine grained rock

4.3 Archaeological Significance

4.3.1 Monuments

Used

4.3.2 Famous Monuments

Data Not Available

Easter Island in the Polynesian Triangle, Pacific Ocean, Gateway of India in Mumbai, India, Gol Gumbaz in Karnataka, India

4.3.3 Sculpture

Used

4.3.4 Famous Sculptures

Data Not Available

4.3.5 Pictographs

Used

4.3.6 Petroglyphs

Used

4.3.7 Figurines

Used

4.4 Fossils

Absent

5 Formation

5.1 Formation

Nepheline Syenites are formed due to alkaline igneous activities and are generally formed in thick continental crustal areas or in Cordilleran subduction zones.

Basalt forms when lava reaches the Earth's surface near an active volcano. The temperature of lava is between 1100 to 1250° C when it gets to the surface.

5.2 Composition

5.2.1 Mineral Content

Albite, Amphibole, Biotite, Cancrinite, Feldspar, Hornblende, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Sodalite

Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene

5.2.2 Compound Content

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

5.3 Transformation

5.3.1 Metamorphism

✔ ✘

5.3.2 Types of Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism

Contact Metamorphism

5.3.3 Weathering

✔ ✘

5.3.4 Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering

Biological Weathering

5.3.5 Erosion

✔ ✘

5.3.6 Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion

Not Available

6 Properties

6.1 Physical Properties

6.1.1 Hardness

5.5-66

1 7

6.1.2 Grain Size

Fine Grained

6.1.3 Fracture

Conchoidal to Uneven

Conchoidal

6.1.4 Streak

White

White to Grey

6.1.5 Porosity

Less Porous

6.1.6 Luster

Greasy to Dull

Not Available

6.1.7 Compressive Strength

150.00 N/mm²37.40 N/mm²

0.15 450

6.1.8 Cleavage

Poor

Not Available

6.1.9 Toughness

Not Available

2.3

6.1.10 Specific Gravity

2.62.8-3

0 8.4

6.1.11 Transparency

Translucent to Opaque

Opaque

6.1.12 Density

2.6 g/cm³2.9-3.1 g/cm³

0 1400

6.2 Thermal Properties

6.2.1 Specific Heat Capacity

NA0.84 kJ/Kg K

0.14 3.2

6.2.2 Resistance

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Wear Resistant

Heat Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

7 Reserves

7.1 Deposits in Eastern Continents

7.1.1 Asia

Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Vietnam

India, Russia

7.1.2 Africa

Angola, Egypt, Madagascar, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa

South Africa

7.1.3 Europe

Andorra, Finland, France, Great Britain, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden

Iceland

7.1.4 Others

Greenland

Not Yet Found

7.2 Deposits in Western Continents

7.2.1 North America

Canada, USA

7.2.2 South America

Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, Venezuela

Brazil

7.3 Deposits in Oceania Continent

7.3.1 Australia

New Zealand, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia

Not Yet Found

Nepheline Syenite vs Basalt 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 Nepheline Syenite and Basalt Reserves. Nepheline Syenite is a holocrystalline plutonic rock resembling syenite but containing nepheline and lacking quartz. Basalt is a common extrusive igneous rock formed by the rapid cooling of basaltic lava exposed at or very near the surface of Earth. 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 Nepheline Syenite vs Basalt information and Nepheline Syenite vs Basalt characteristics in the upcoming sections.

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Nepheline Syenite vs Basalt 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. Nepheline Syenite vs Basalt characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Nepheline Syenite and Properties of Basalt. Learn more about Nepheline Syenite vs Basalt in the next section. The interior uses of Nepheline Syenite include Countertops, Decorative aggregates, Flooring, Homes and Interior decoration whereas the interior uses of Basalt include Floor tiles, Homes, Hotels and Kitchens. Due to some exceptional properties of Nepheline Syenite and Basalt, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Nepheline Syenite in construction industry include As dimension stone, Cement manufacture, Construction aggregate, For road aggregate, Landscaping, Making natural cement, Manufacture of magnesium and dolomite refractories, Production of glass and ceramics and that of Basalt include Arrowheads, As dimension stone, Cobblestones, Cutting tool, Rail track ballast, Roadstone.

More about Nepheline Syenite and Basalt

Here you can know more about Nepheline Syenite and Basalt. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Nepheline Syenite and Basalt consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Nepheline Syenite includes Albite, Amphibole, Biotite, Cancrinite, Feldspar, Hornblende, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Sodalite and mineral content of Basalt includes Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene. You can also check out the list of all Igneous Rocks. When we have to compare Nepheline Syenite vs Basalt, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Nepheline Syenite is available in brown, buff, cream, green, grey, pink, white colors whereas, Basalt is available in black, brown, light to dark grey colors. Appearance of Nepheline Syenite is Banded and Foilated and that of Basalt is Dull and Soft. Properties of rock is another aspect for Nepheline Syenite vs Basalt. The hardness of Nepheline Syenite is 5.5-6 and that of Basalt is 6. The types of Nepheline Syenite are Borolanite and Litchfieldite whereas types of Basalt are Alkaline Basalt, Boninite, High Alumina Basalt, Mid Ocean Ridge Basalt (MORB), Tholeiitic Basalt, Basaltic trachyandesite, Mugearite and Shoshonite. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Nepheline Syenite is white while that of Basalt is white to grey. The specific heat capacity of Nepheline Syenite is Not Available and that of Basalt is 0.84 kJ/Kg K. Depending on the properties like hardness, toughness, specific heat capacity, porosity etc., rocks are resistant to heat, wear, impact, etc.Nepheline Syenite is heat resistant, impact resistant, wear resistant whereas Basalt is heat resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant.