A Wisdom Archive on Montmorillonite

Montmorillonite is a very soft phyllosilicate mineral that typically forms in microscopic crystals, forming a clay. Montmorillonite, a member of the smectite family, is a 2:1 clay, meaning that it has 2 tetrahedral sheets sandwiching a central octahedral sheet. The particles are plate-shaped with an average diameter of approximately 1 micrometre. The particle thickness is extremely small (~ 1 nm). It is the main constituent of the volcanic ash weathering product, bentonite. Montmorillonite's water content is variable and it inc ... Including:

• Montmorillonite - Reference

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Clay is a generic term for an aggregate of hydrous silicate particles less than 4 μm (micrometres) in diameter. Clay consists of a variety of phyllosilicate minerals rich in silicon and aluminium oxides and hydroxides which include variable amounts of structural water. Clays are generally formed by the chemical weathering of silicate-bearing rocks by carbonic acid, but some are formed by hydrothermal activity. Clays are distinguished from other small parti ... Including:

• Clay - Historical and modern uses of clay

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Clays are heavy in texture yet soft to the touch. Clay is a malleable substance when wet, which means it can be shaped easily with the hands. When dry, it becomes firm and when "fired," or hardened by intense heat, clay becomes permanently solid. A fireplace or oven specifically designed for hardening clay is called a kiln. These properties make clay an ideal substance for making durable pottery items, both practical and decorative, with different types of clay and firing conditions giving earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. Early humans d ...

Read more here: » Clay: Encyclopedia II - Clay - Historical and modern uses of clay

Weathering - Carbonation-solution. Carbonation occurs on rocks which contain calcium carbonate such as limestone and chalk. This takes place when rain combines with carbon dioxide or an organic acid to form a weak carbonic acid which reacts with calcium carbonate and forms calcium bicarbonate. The reactions as follows: CO2 + H2O ⇌ H2CO3 carbon dioxide + water ⇌ carbonic acid H2

Read more here: » Weathering: Encyclopedia II - Weathering - Chemical Weathering

Gibbsite, Al(OH)3, is an important ore of aluminium and is one of three minerals that make up the rock bauxite. Bauxite is often thought of as a mineral but is really a rock composed of aluminium oxide and hydroxide minerals such as gibbsite, boehmite (AlO(OH)), and diaspore (HAlO2), as well as clays, silt, and iron oxides and hydroxides. Bauxite is a laterite, a rock formed from intense weathering environments such as foun ...

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Negawatt power - Lighting. Incandescent light bulb: about 10% (15% for halogen lamps). Fluorescent light bulb: 30% to 40% (depending on the exact type). Light emitting diode (LED) 80%-90% (depending on the exact type). Negawatt power - Electric motors. Negawatt power - Heating/Cooling/Hot Water. Geothermal exchange heat pump: From 250% to 350%[1][2] and higher in some experimental designs. < ...

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The ocean floor of the central Pacific basin is relatively uniform, an abyssal plain with a mean depth of about 4270 m (14,000 ft). The major irregularities in the basin are the extremely steep-sided, flat-topped submarine peaks known as seamounts. The western part of the floor consists of mountain arcs that rise above the sea as island groups, such as the Solomon Islands and New Zealand, and deep oceanic trenches, such as the Mariana Trench, the Philippine Trench, and the Tonga Trench. Most of the trenches lie adjacent to the outer margins ...

Read more here: » Pacific Ocean: Encyclopedia II - Pacific Ocean - Ocean bottom