Schist

Felsite

Schist and Felsite

Schist

Felsite

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Definition

Schist is a medium grade metamorphic rock with medium to large, flat, sheet like grains in a preferred orientation

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 French schiste, Greek skhistos i.e. split

From English feldspar and -ite

Class

Metamorphic Rocks

Igneous Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

Family

Group

Volcanic

Other Categories

Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Texture

Foliated, Platy

Arborescent Patterned, Vitreous

Color

Black, Blue, Brown, Dark Brown, Green, Grey, Silver

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

Maintenance

Less

Durability

Durable

Water Resistant

✔ ✘

Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

Appearance

Layered and Shiny

Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

Decorative Aggregates, Floor Tiles, Interior Decoration

Decorative Aggregates, Flooring, Interior Decoration

Exterior Uses

Garden Decoration, Paving Stone

Paving Stone, Garden Decoration

Other Architectural Uses

Curbing

Industry

Construction Industry

As Dimension Stone, Building houses or walls, Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Roadstone

Arrowheads, Cutting Tool, Knives, Scrapers, Spear Points

Medical Industry

Surgery

Antiquity Uses

Artifacts

Other Uses

Commercial Uses

Used in aquariums, Writing Slates

Mirror, Jewelry

Types

Mica Schists, Calc-Silicate Schists, Graphite Schists, Blueschists, Whiteschists, Greenschists, Hornblende Schist, Talc Schist, Chlorite Schist, Garnet Schist, Glaucophane schist.

Igneous rock

Features

Easily splits into thin plates, Smooth to touch

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

Schist formed by dynamic metamorphism at high temperatures and pressures that aligns the grains of mica, hornblende and other elongated minerals into thin layers.

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

Alusite, Amphibole, Biotite, Chlorite, Epidote, Feldspar, Garnet, Graphite, Hornblade, Kyanite, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Porphyroblasts, Quartz, Sillimanite, Staurolite, Talc

Feldspar, Iron Oxides

Compound Content

CaO, Carbon Dioxide, MgO

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

Transformation

Metamorphism

✔ ✘

Types of 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, Glacier Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Glacier Erosion, Water Erosion

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

3.5-45-5.5

1 7

👆🏻

Grain Size

Medium to Fine Coarse Grained

Fine Grained

Fracture

Conchoidal

Streak

White

Porosity

Highly Porous

Very Less Porous

Luster

Shiny

Vitreous

Compressive Strength

150.00 N/mm²0.15 N/mm²

0.15 450

👆🏻

Cleavage

Slaty

Toughness

1.5

Specific Gravity

2.5-2.92.6-2.7

0 8.4

👆🏻

Transparency

Opaque

Translucent

Density

2.8-2.9 g/cm³2.6 g/cm³

0 1400

👆🏻

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity

0.70 kJ/Kg K0.92 kJ/Kg K

0.14 3.2

👆🏻

Resistance

Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Water Resistant

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents

Asia

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam

Afghanistan, Indonesia, Japan, Russia

Africa

Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa

Kenya

Europe

Austria, England, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland

Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Turkey

Others

Deposits in Western Continents

North America

Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, USA

Canada, Mexico, USA

South America

Brazil, Colombia, Guyana

Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Peru

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland

New Zealand

All about Schist and Felsite Properties

Know all about Schist and Felsite properties here. All properties of rocks are important as they define the type of rock and its application. Schist belongs to Metamorphic Rocks while Felsite belongs to Igneous Rocks.Texture of Schist is Foliated, Platy whereas that of Felsite is Arborescent Patterned, Vitreous. Schist appears Layered and Shiny and Felsite appears Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny. The luster of Schist is shiny while that of Felsite is vitreous. Schist is available in black, blue, brown, dark brown, green, grey, silver colors whereas Felsite is available in black, blue, brown, green, orange, red, tan, yellow colors. The commercial uses of Schist are used in aquariums, writing slates and that of Felsite are mirror, jewelry.