The Gay Head cliffs in Martha's

Vineyard consist almost entirely of

clay.

Deforestation for clay extraction in

Rio de Janeiro city - Brazil. The

picture is of Morro da Covanca -

Jacarepaguá.

ClayFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with

traces of metal oxides and organic matter.[1] Geologic clay deposits are mostlycomposed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped inthe mineral structure.

Contents

1 Formation2 Definition3 Grouping4 Historical and modern uses

4.1 Medical and agricultural uses4.2 Clay as a building material

5 See also6 Footnotes7 References8 External links

Formation

Clay minerals are typically formed over long periods of time by the gradual chemicalweathering of rocks, usually silicate-bearing, by low concentrations of carbonic acidand other diluted solvents. These solvents, usually acidic, migrate through theweathering rock after leaching through upper weathered layers. In addition to theweathering process, some clay minerals are formed by hydrothermal activity. Claydeposits may be formed in place as residual deposits in soil, but thick deposits usuallyare formed as the result of a secondary sedimentary deposition process after theyhave been eroded and transported from their original location of formation. Claydeposits are typically associated with very low energy depositional environments suchas large lakes and marine basins.

Primary clays, also known as kaolins, are located at the site of formation. Secondary

clay deposits have been moved by erosion and water from their primary location.[2]

Definition

Clays are distinguished from other fine-grained soils by differences in size and mineralogy. Silts, which are fine-grained soils thatdo not include clay minerals, tend to have larger particle sizes than clays, but there is some overlap in both particle size andother physical properties, and there are many naturally occurring deposits which include silts and also clay. The distinctionbetween silt and clay varies by discipline. Geologists and soil scientists usually consider the separation to occur at a particle size

of 2 µm (clays being finer than silts), sedimentologists often use 4-5 μm, and colloid chemists use 1 μm.[1] Geotechnicalengineers distinguish between silts and clays based on the plasticity properties of the soil, as measured by the soils' AtterbergLimits. ISO 14688 grades clay particles as being smaller than 2 μm and silts larger.

Electron microscope photograph of

smectite clay - magnification 23,500

Quaternary clay in Estonia.

Clay layers in a construction site. Dry

clay is normally much more stable

than sand with regard to excavations.

Grouping

Depending on the academic source, there are three or four main groups of clays: kaolinite, montmorillonite-smectite, illite, andchlorite. Chlorites are not always considered a clay, sometimes being classified as a separate group within the phyllosilicates.There are approximately 30 different types of "pure" clays in these categories, but most "natural" clays are mixtures of thesedifferent types, along with other weathered minerals.

Varve (or varved clay) is clay with visible annual layers, formed by seasonaldifferences in erosion and organic content. This type of deposit is common in formerglacial lakes. When glacial lakes are formed there is very little movement of the waterthat makes the lake, and these eroded soils settle on the lake bed. This allows such

an even distribution on the different layers of clay.[2]

Quick clay is a unique type of marine clay indigenous to the glaciated terrains ofNorway, Canada, Northern Ireland, and Sweden. It is a highly sensitive clay, proneto liquefaction, which has been involved in several deadly landslides.

Historical and modern uses

Clays exhibit plasticity when mixed with water in certain proportions. When dry, claybecomes firm and when fired in a kiln, permanent physical and chemical changesoccur. These reactions, among other changes, cause the clay to be converted into aceramic material. Because of these properties, clay is used for making pottery items,

both utilitarian and decorative, and construction products,[3] such as bricks, wall andfloor tiles. Different types of clay, when used with different minerals and firingconditions, are used to produce earthenware, stoneware, and porcelain. Prehistorichumans discovered the useful properties of clay. Some of the earliest pottery shardsrecovered are from central Honshu, Japan. They are associated with the Jomonculture and the deposits from which they were recovered have been radiocarbon

dated to around 14000 BC.[4] Depending on the content of the soil, clay can appearin various colors, from a dull gray to a deep orange-red.

Clay tablets were used as the first known writing medium, inscribed with cuneiformscript through the use of a blunt reed called a stylus. Purpose-made clay balls werealso used as sling ammunition.

Clays sintered in fire were the first form of ceramic. Bricks, cooking pots, art objects,dishware, and even musical instruments such as the ocarina can all be shaped fromclay before being fired. Clay is also used in many industrial processes, such as papermaking, cement production, and chemical filtering. Clay is also often used in themanufacture of pipes for smoking tobacco. Until the late 20th century bentonite claywas widely used as a mold binder in the manufacture of sand castings.

Clay, being relatively impermeable to water, is also used where natural seals areneeded, such as in the cores of dams, or as a barrier in landfills against toxic seepage

(lining the landfill, preferably in combination with geotextiles).[5] (See Puddling.)

Recent studies have investigated clay's absorption capacities in various applications, such as the removal of heavy metals fromwaste water and air purification.

Medical and agricultural uses

Recent research indicates that various animals visit clay licks periodically to eat from them.[6]

A traditional use of clay as medicine goes back to prehistoric times. An example is Armenian bole, which is used to soothe an

upset stomach, similar to the way parrots (and later, humans) in South America originally used it.[7] Kaolin clay and attapulgitehave been used as anti-diarrheal medicines.

Clay as a building material

Clay is one of the oldest building materials on Earth, among other ancient, naturally-occurring geologic materials such as stoneand organic materials like wood. Between one-half and two-thirds of the world's population, in traditional societies as well asdeveloped countries, still live or work in a building made with clay as an essential part of its load-bearing structure. Also aprimary ingredient in many natural building techniques, clay is used to create adobe, cob, cordwood, and rammed earthstructures and building elements such as wattle and daub, clay plaster, clay render case, clay floors and clay paints.

See also

Clay mineralsBentoniteCeramicClay (industrial plasticine)Clay animationClay courtClay pitGeophagy (eating of soils, including eating of clay)Graham Cairns-Smith, proposed the 'clay theory' of abiogenesisExpansive clay

London ClayModelling clayPaperclayParticle sizePlasticinePotteryVertisol

Footnotes

1. ̂a b Guggenheim & Martin 1995, pp. 255–256

2. ̂a b Environmental Characteristics of Clays and Clay Mineral Deposits - USGS (http://pubs.usgs.gov/info/clays/)

3. ^ Coroado at al., (2010) Clays from Vila Nova da Rainha (Portugal): Appraisal of their relevant properties in order to be used inconstruction ceramics. Acta Geodynamica et Geomaterialia, 7 (2): 189-200(http://www.irsm.cas.cz/abstracts/AGG/02_10/5_Ferraz.pdf)

4. ^ Scarre, C. 2005. The Human Past, Thames and Hudson:London, P.238

5. ^ Koçkar, Mustafa K.; Akgün, Haluk; Aktürk, Özgür, Preliminary evaluation of a compacted bentonite / sand mixture as alandfill liner material (Abstract) (http://www2.widener.edu/~sxw0004/abstract34.html). Department of Geological Engineering,Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

6. ^ http://macawproject.org/component/content/article/44-main-menu/47-intro

7. ^ Evolutionary biology: Dirty eating for healthy living by Jared M. Diamond(http://cogweb.ucla.edu/Abstracts/Diamond_99.html)

References

Guggenheim, Stephen; Martin, R. T. (1995), "Definition of clay and clay mineral: Journal report of the AIPEAnomenclature and CMS nomenclature committees" (http://www.clays.org/journal/archive/volume%2043/43-2-255.pdf),Clays and Clay Minerals 43 (2): 255–256, doi:10.1346/CCMN.1995.0430213(http://dx.doi.org/10.1346%2FCCMN.1995.0430213)

Clay mineral nomenclature (http://www.minsocam.org/msa/collectors_corner/arc/nomenclaturecl1.htm) AmericanMineralogist.

Ehlers, Ernest G. and Blatt, Harvey (1982). 'Petrology, Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic' San Francisco: W.H.Freeman and Company. ISBN 0-7167-1279-2.

Hillier S. (2003) Clay Mineralogy. pp 139–142 In: Middleton G.V., Church M.J., Coniglio M., Hardie L.A. andLongstaffe F.J.(Editors) Encyclopedia of sediments and sedimentary rocks. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.

External links

Building the Phyllosilicates (http://pubpages.unh.edu/~harter/crystal.htm) University of New HampshireThe Clay Minerals Group of the Mineralogical Society (http://www.minersoc.org/pages/groups/cmg/cmg.html)Clay Whistles (http://whistlemuseum.com/2011/04/15/clay-wwhistles-post-underconstruction.aspx/)Information about clays used in the UK pottery industry(http://www.stoke.gov.uk/ccm/museums/museum/2006/gladstone-pottery-museum/information-sheets/clays-used-in-the-pottery-industry.en)The Clay Minerals Society (http://www.clays.org/)Plasticity of clay (http://www.ic.arizona.edu/ic/mse257/class_notes/plasticity.html)Organic Matter in Clays (http://digitalfire.com/4sight/education/organic_matter_in_clays_detailed_overview_325.html)

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Clay&oldid=567796316"Categories: Types of soil Sculpture materials Natural materials Sedimentology Sediments Phyllosilicates

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