Sandstone

Porphyry

Sandstone vs Porphyry

Sandstone

Porphyry

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1 Definition

1.1 Definition

Sandstone is defined as a rock which is composed of sand-sized grains of various minerals mostly of uniform size and often are smooth and rounded

Porphyry is a reddish-brown to purple igneous rock containing large phenocrysts of various minerals embedded in a fine-grained matrix

1.2 History

1.2.1 Origin

Unknown

Egypt

1.2.2 Discoverer

Unknown

1.3 Etymology

From its composition, sand and stone

From Old French porfire, from Italian porfiro and in some cases directly from Latin porphyrites

1.4 Class

Sedimentary Rocks

Igneous Rocks

1.4.1 Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Hard Rock

1.5 Family

1.5.1 Group

Not Applicable

Plutonic

1.6 Other Categories

Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

2 Texture

2.1 Texture

Clastic, Granular, Rough

Porphyritic

2.2 Color

Beige, Black, Brown, Colourless, Cream, Dark Brown, Green, Grey, Light Green, Light to Dark Grey, Pink, Red, White, Yellow

Black, Brown, Colourless, Green, Grey, Red, Rust, White

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

Rough

Dull

3 Uses

3.1 Architecture

3.1.1 Interior Uses

Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration

Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration

3.1.2 Exterior Uses

As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Office Buildings

Garden Decoration, Paving Stone

3.1.3 Other Architectural Uses

Curbing

3.2 Industry

3.2.1 Construction Industry

Cement Manufacture, Construction Aggregate, for Road Aggregate, Production of Glass and Ceramics, Raw material for the manufacture of mortar

Construction Aggregate

3.2.2 Medical Industry

Not Yet Used

3.3 Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture

3.4 Other Uses

3.4.1 Commercial Uses

An Oil and Gas Reservoir, In aquifers, Petroleum reservoirs, Soil Conditioner, Source of Magnesia (MgO), Tombstones, Used in aquariums

Creating Artwork, Gemstone, Jewelry

4 Types

4.1 Types

Grey Sandstones, Crystallized Sandstones, Hard Sandstones , Carbonate Cemented Sandstones and Ganister

Rhomb Porphyry

4.2 Features

Available in Lots of Colors and Patterns, Generally rough to touch, Very fine grained rock

Generally rough to touch, Is one of the oldest rock, Surfaces are often shiny

4.3 Archaeological Significance

4.3.1 Monuments

Used

4.3.2 Famous Monuments

Abu Simbel in Egypt, Agia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Buland Darwaza in Agra, India, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Maharashtra, India, Dom in Berlin, Great Sphinx at Giza, Egypt, Hawa Mahal in Jaipur, India, Humayun's Tomb in Delhi, India, India Gate in Delhi, India, Jama Masjid in Delhi, India, Khajuraho Temples, India, Leh Palace in Leh, India, Lotus Temple in New Delhi, India, Luxor Temple in Egypt, Machu Picchu in Peru, Neuschwanstein in Bavaria, Petra in Jordan, Qutb Minar in India, Red Fort in Delhi, India, Sanchi Stupa in India

Data Not Available

4.3.3 Sculpture

Used

4.3.4 Famous Sculptures

Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra, India, Elephanta Caves in Maharashtra, India, Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, US

Data Not Available

4.3.5 Pictographs

Not Used

4.3.6 Petroglyphs

Not Used

4.3.7 Figurines

Used

4.4 Fossils

Present

Absent

5 Formation

5.1 Formation

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock which forms from cemented sand-sized clasts. It forms when sand layers are buried under sediments of sand.

Porphyry is formed in two stages: the magma cools slowly deep within the crust or the magma is cools rapidly as it erupts from a volcano, creating small grains that are usually invisible to naked eye.

5.2 Composition

5.2.1 Mineral Content

Calcite, Clay, Clay Minerals, Feldspar, Micas, Quartz

Biotite, Chert, Feldspar, Garnet, Graphite, Quartz, Silica

5.2.2 Compound Content

Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, Potassium Oxide, MgO, Sodium Oxide, Silicon Dioxide

Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, Potassium Oxide, MgO, Sodium Oxide, Silicon Dioxide, Titanium Dioxide

5.3 Transformation

5.3.1 Metamorphism

✔ ✘

5.3.2 Types of Metamorphism

Not Applicable

Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism, Hydrothermal Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism

5.3.3 Weathering

✔ ✘

5.3.4 Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Not Registered

5.3.5 Erosion

✔ ✘

5.3.6 Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion, Sea Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion

6 Properties

6.1 Physical Properties

6.1.1 Hardness

6-76-7

1 7

6.1.2 Grain Size

Coarse or Fine

Fine Grained

6.1.3 Fracture

Conchoidal

Irregular

6.1.4 Streak

White

6.1.5 Porosity

Highly Porous

Less Porous

6.1.6 Luster

Dull

6.1.7 Compressive Strength

95.00 N/mm²NA

0.15 450

6.1.8 Cleavage

Perfect

Imperfect

6.1.9 Toughness

2.6

1.7

6.1.10 Specific Gravity

2.2-2.82.5-4

0 8.4

6.1.11 Transparency

Opaque

Translucent to Opaque

6.1.12 Density

2.2-2.8 g/cm³2.5-2.52 g/cm³

0 1400

6.2 Thermal Properties

6.2.1 Specific Heat Capacity

0.92 kJ/Kg KNA

0.14 3.2

6.2.2 Resistance

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant

7 Reserves

7.1 Deposits in Eastern Continents

7.1.1 Asia

China, India, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, Thailand, Uzbekistan

China, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam

7.1.2 Africa

Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa

Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, South Africa

7.1.3 Europe

Austria, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland

7.1.4 Others

Greenland

7.2 Deposits in Western Continents

7.2.1 North America

Canada, USA

Canada, Cuba, Jamaica, USA

7.2.2 South America

Brazil

Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay

7.3 Deposits in Oceania Continent

7.3.1 Australia

New South Wales, New Zealand

New South Wales, New Zealand, Western Australia

Sandstone vs Porphyry 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 Sandstone and Porphyry Reserves. Sandstone is defined as a rock which is composed of sand-sized grains of various minerals mostly of uniform size and often are smooth and rounded. Porphyry is a reddish-brown to purple igneous rock containing large phenocrysts of various minerals embedded in a fine-grained matrix. 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 Sandstone vs Porphyry information and Sandstone vs Porphyry characteristics in the upcoming sections.

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Sandstone vs Porphyry 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. Sandstone vs Porphyry characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Sandstone and Properties of Porphyry. Learn more about Sandstone vs Porphyry in the next section. The interior uses of Sandstone include Countertops, Decorative aggregates and Interior decoration whereas the interior uses of Porphyry include Decorative aggregates and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Sandstone and Porphyry, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Sandstone in construction industry include Cement manufacture, Construction aggregate, For road aggregate, Production of glass and ceramics, Raw material for the manufacture of mortar and that of Porphyry include Construction aggregate.

More about Sandstone and Porphyry

Here you can know more about Sandstone and Porphyry. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Sandstone and Porphyry consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Sandstone includes Calcite, Clay, Clay Minerals, Feldspar, Micas, Quartz and mineral content of Porphyry includes Biotite, Chert, Feldspar, Garnet, Graphite, Quartz, Silica. You can also check out the list of all Sedimentary Rocks. When we have to compare Sandstone vs Porphyry, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Sandstone is available in beige, black, brown, colourless, cream, dark brown, green, grey, light green, light to dark grey, pink, red, white, yellow colors whereas, Porphyry is available in black, brown, colourless, green, grey, red, rust, white colors. Appearance of Sandstone is Rough and that of Porphyry is Dull. Properties of rock is another aspect for Sandstone vs Porphyry. Hardness of Sandstone and Porphyry is 6-7. The types of Sandstone are Grey Sandstones, Crystallized Sandstones, Hard Sandstones , Carbonate Cemented Sandstones and Ganister whereas types of Porphyry are Rhomb Porphyry. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Sandstone and Porphyry is white. The specific heat capacity of Sandstone is 0.92 kJ/Kg K and that of Porphyry is Not Available. Depending on the properties like hardness, toughness, specific heat capacity, porosity etc., rocks are resistant to heat, wear, impact, etc.Sandstone is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant whereas Porphyry is heat resistant, impact resistant.