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Clay
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Clayisafinegrainednaturalrockorsoilmaterialthatcombines
oneormoreclaymineralswithtracesofmetaloxidesandorganic
matter.Claysareplasticduetotheirwatercontentandbecomehard,
brittleandnonplasticupondryingorfiring.[1]Geologicclay
depositsaremostlycomposedofphyllosilicatemineralscontaining
variableamountsofwatertrappedinthemineralstructure.
Dependingonthecontentofthesoil,claycanappearinvarious
colors,fromwhitetodullgrayorbrowntoadeeporangered.
Claysaredistinguishedfromotherfinegrainedsoilsbydifferences
insizeandmineralogy.Silts,whicharefinegrainedsoilsthatdonot
includeclayminerals,tendtohavelargerparticlesizesthanclays.
Thereis,however,someoverlapinparticlesizeandotherphysical
properties,andmanynaturallyoccurringdepositsincludebothsilts
andclay.Thedistinctionbetweensiltandclayvariesbydiscipline.
Geologistsandsoilscientistsusuallyconsidertheseparationto
occurataparticlesizeof2m(claysbeingfinerthansilts),
sedimentologistsoftenuse45m,andcolloidchemistsuse1m.[1]
Geotechnicalengineersdistinguishbetweensiltsandclaysbasedon
theplasticitypropertiesofthesoil,asmeasuredbythesoils'
Atterberglimits.ISO14688gradesclayparticlesasbeingsmaller
than2mandsiltparticlesasbeinglarger.

Contents

TheGayHeadcliffsinMartha's
Vineyardconsistalmostentirelyof
clay.

Electronmicroscopephotographof
smectiteclaymagnification23,500

1Formation
2Grouping
3Historicalandmodernuses
3.1Medicinaluses
3.2Asabuildingmaterial
4Seealso
5Footnotes
6References
7Externallinks
QuaternaryclayinEstonia

Formation
Claymineralstypicallyformoverlongperiodsoftimefromthegradualchemicalweatheringofrocks,
usuallysilicatebearing,bylowconcentrationsofcarbonicacidandotherdilutedsolvents.Thesesolvents,
usuallyacidic,migratethroughtheweatheringrockafterleachingthroughupperweatheredlayers.In
additiontotheweatheringprocess,someclaymineralsareformedthroughhydrothermalactivity.Thereare
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twotypesofclaydeposits:primaryandsecondary.Primaryclaysformasresidualdepositsinsoiland
remainatthesiteofformation.Secondaryclaysareclaysthathavebeentransportedfromtheiroriginal
locationbywatererosionanddepositedinanewsedimentarydeposit.[2]Claydepositsaretypically
associatedwithverylowenergydepositionalenvironmentssuchas
largelakesandmarinebasins.

Grouping
Dependingontheacademicsource,therearethreeorfourmain
groupsofclays:kaolinite,montmorillonitesmectite,illite,and
chlorite.Chloritesarenotalwaysconsideredaclay,sometimes
beingclassifiedasaseparategroupwithinthephyllosilicates.There
areapproximately30differenttypesof"pure"claysinthese
categories,butmost"natural"claysaremixturesofthesedifferent
types,alongwithotherweatheredminerals.

Deforestationforclayextractionin
RiodeJaneiro,Brazil.Thepictureis
ofMorrodaCovanca,Jacarepagu.

Varve(orvarvedclay)isclaywithvisibleannuallayers,whichformfromseasonaldifferencesinerosion
andorganiccontent.Thistypeofdepositiscommoninformerglaciallakes.Whenfinesedimentsare
deliveredintothecalmwatersoftheseglaciallakebasinsawayfromtheshoreline,theysettletothelake
bed.Theresultingseasonallayeringispreservedinanevendistributionofclaysedimentbanding.[2]
QuickclayisauniquetypeofmarineclayindigenoustotheglaciatedterrainsofNorway,Canada,
NorthernIreland,andSweden.Itisahighlysensitiveclay,pronetoliquefaction,whichhasbeeninvolved
inseveraldeadlylandslides.

Historicalandmodernuses
Claysexhibitplasticitywhenmixedwithwaterincertain
proportions.Whendry,claybecomesfirmandwhenfiredinakiln,
permanentphysicalandchemicalchangesoccur.Thesechanges
converttheclayintoaceramicmaterial.Becauseofthese
properties,clayisusedformakingpottery,bothutilitarianand
decorative,andconstructionproducts,suchasbricks,wallandfloor
tiles.Differenttypesofclay,whenusedwithdifferentmineralsand
firingconditions,areusedtoproduceearthenware,stoneware,and
porcelain.Prehistorichumansdiscoveredtheusefulpropertiesof
clay.Someoftheearliestpotteryshardsrecoveredarefromcentral
Honshu,Japan.TheyareassociatedwiththeJomoncultureand
depositstheywererecoveredfromhavebeendatedtoaround
14,000BC.[3]

Claylayersinaconstructionsite.Dry
clayisnormallymuchmorestable
thansandwithregardtoexcavations.

Claytabletswerethefirstknownwritingmedium.Scribeswrotebyinscribingthemwithcuneiformscript
usingabluntreedcalledastylus.Purposemadeclayballswerealsousedasslingammunition.
Clayssinteredinfirewerethefirstformofceramic.Bricks,cookingpots,artobjects,dishware,andeven
musicalinstrumentssuchastheocarinacanallbeshapedfromclaybeforebeingfired.Clayisalsousedin
manyindustrialprocesses,suchaspapermaking,cementproduction,andchemicalfiltering.Clayisalso
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oftenusedinthemanufactureofpipesforsmokingtobacco.Untilthelate20thcenturybentoniteclaywas
widelyusedasamoldbinderinthemanufactureofsandcastings.
Clay,beingrelativelyimpermeabletowater,isalsousedwherenaturalsealsareneeded,suchasinthe
coresofdams,orasabarrierinlandfillsagainsttoxicseepage(liningthelandfill,preferablyincombination
withgeotextiles).[4](SeePuddling.)
Recentstudieshaveinvestigatedclay'sabsorptioncapacitiesin
variousapplications,suchastheremovalofheavymetalsfrom
wastewaterandairpurification.

Medicinaluses
Atraditionaluseofclayasmedicinegoesbacktoprehistorictimes.
AnexampleisArmenianbole,whichisusedtosootheanupset
stomach,similartothewayparrots(andlater,humans)inSouth
Americaoriginallyusedit.[5]Kaolinclayandattapulgitehavebeen
usedasantidiarrhealmedicines.

Asabuildingmaterial
ClayisoneoftheoldestbuildingmaterialsonEarth,amongother
Claystopper
ancient,naturallyoccurringgeologicmaterialssuchasstoneand
organicmaterialslikewood.Betweenonehalfandtwothirdsofthe
world'spopulation,intraditionalsocietiesaswellasdevelopedcountries,stillliveorworkinabuilding
madewithclayasanessentialpartofitsloadbearingstructure.Alsoaprimaryingredientinmanynatural
buildingtechniques,clayisusedtocreateadobe,cob,cordwood,andrammedearthstructuresandbuilding
elementssuchaswattleanddaub,clayplaster,clayrendercase,clayfloorsandclaypaintsandceramic
buildingmaterial.Claywasusedasamortarinbrickchimneysandstonewallswhereprotectedfromwater.

Seealso
Clay(industrialplasticine)
Clayanimation
Claycourt
Claypit
Geophagy
GrahamCairnsSmith
Expansiveclay

LondonClay
Modellingclay
Paperclay
Particlesize
Plasticine
Vertisol

Wikiquotehasquotations
relatedto:Clay

Footnotes
1. Guggenheim&Martin1995,pp.255256
2. EnvironmentalCharacteristicsofClaysandClayMineralDepositsUSGS(http://pubs.usgs.gov/info/clays/)
3. Scarre,C.2005.TheHumanPast,ThamesandHudson:London,P.238
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4. Kokar,MustafaK.Akgn,HalukAktrk,zgr,Preliminaryevaluationofacompactedbentonite/sand
mixtureasalandfilllinermaterial(Abstract)(http://www2.widener.edu/~sxw0004/abstract34.html).Department
ofGeologicalEngineering,MiddleEastTechnicalUniversity,Ankara,Turkey
5. Evolutionarybiology:DirtyeatingforhealthylivingbyJaredM.Diamond
(http://cogweb.ucla.edu/Abstracts/Diamond_99.html)

References
Guggenheim,StephenMartin,R.T.(1995),"Definitionofclayandclaymineral:Journalreportof
theAIPEAnomenclatureandCMSnomenclaturecommittees"
(http://www.clays.org/journal/archive/volume%2043/432255.pdf)(PDF),ClaysandClayMinerals
43(2):255256,Bibcode:1995CCM....43..255G
(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1995CCM....43..255G),doi:10.1346/CCMN.1995.0430213
(https://dx.doi.org/10.1346%2FCCMN.1995.0430213)
Claymineralnomenclature
(http://www.minsocam.org/msa/collectors_corner/arc/nomenclaturecl1.htm)AmericanMineralogist.
Ehlers,ErnestG.andBlatt,Harvey(1982).'Petrology,Igneous,Sedimentary,andMetamorphic'San
Francisco:W.H.FreemanandCompany.ISBN0716712792.
HillierS.(2003)ClayMineralogy.pp139142In:MiddletonG.V.,ChurchM.J.,ConiglioM.,
HardieL.A.andLongstaffeF.J.(Editors)Encyclopediaofsedimentsandsedimentaryrocks.Kluwer
AcademicPublishers,Dordrecht.

Externallinks
BuildingthePhyllosilicates
(http://pubpages.unh.edu/~harter/crystal.htm)Universityof
NewHampshire
TheClayMineralsGroupoftheMineralogicalSociety
(http://www.minersoc.org/pages/groups/cmg/cmg.html)
InformationaboutclaysusedintheUKpotteryindustry

Lookupclayin
Wiktionary,thefree
dictionary.
WikimediaCommonshas
mediarelatedtoClay.

(http://www.stoke.gov.uk/ccm/museums/museum/2006/gladstonepotterymuseum/information
sheets/claysusedinthepotteryindustry.en)
TheClayMineralsSociety(http://www.clays.org/)
Plasticityofclay(http://www.ic.arizona.edu/ic/mse257/class_notes/plasticity.html)
OrganicMatterinClays
(http://digitalfire.com/4sight/education/organic_matter_in_clays_detailed_overview_325.html)
Retrievedfrom"http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Clay&oldid=662029336"
Categories: Typesofsoil Sculpturematerials Naturalmaterials Sedimentology Sediments
Phyllosilicates Clay Soilbasedbuildingmaterials
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