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sial

a. A layer of rocks, underlying all continents, that ranges from granitic
at the top to gabbroic at the base. The thickness is variously placed at
30 to 35 km. The name derives from the principal ingredients, silica and
alumina. Specific gravity, about 2.7. AGI
b. A petrologic name for the upper layer of the Earth's crust, composed of
rocks that are rich in silica and alumina; it may be the source of
granitic magma. It is characteristic of the upper continental crust.
Etymol: an acronym for silica + alumina. Adj: sialic. CF:sialma
Syn:sal; granitic layer. AGI

siallite

a. A group name for the kaolin clay minerals and allophane. AGI
b. A rock composed of siallite minerals. AGI

sialma

A mnemonic term derived from (si) for silica, (al) for alumina, and (ma)
for magnesium, applied as a compositional term to a layer within the Earth
that occupies a position intermediate between sial and sima. AGI

Siam ruby

A name sometimes erroneously applied to the dark ruby spinel occurring
with the rubies of Thailand.

Siberian aquamarine

A blue-green beryl from Siberia, Russia.

Siberian ruby

Rubellite; a pink variety of elbaite found in Siberia.

siberite

A violet-red or purple variety of elbaite from Siberia.
See also:Siberian ruby

Sicilian amber

Simetite, a variety of amber.

sickening

a. A scum that forms on the surface of mercury that retards amalgamating,
caused by grease, sulfides, arsenides, etc. Gordon
b. The flouring of mercury. See also:floured

sicklerite

An orthorhombic mineral, Li(Mn,Fe)PO4 forms a series with
ferrisicklerite; dark brown. Syn:manganese sicklerite

sick mercury

Mercury that has become contaminated so that it has neither a clean,
bright surface nor a spheroidal shape when in globules. Effect produced by
sulfur, oil, talc, graphite, sulfides of antimony, arsenic or bismuth,
calcium earths. In this state, it cannot be used to amalgamate gold.
Pryor, 3

side

a. The more or less vertical face or wall of coal or goaf forming one side
of an underground working place.
b. The wall of a vein.
c. Part of a rock mass bordering on a fault plane. Schieferdecker

side adit

A side passage sometimes made when the main adit is choked with waste
rock.

side arch pups

Firebricks of a certain standard size. Osborne

side basse

A transverse direction of the line of dip in strata.

sideboard

a. A board used in timbering the sides of a heading.
See also:side trees
b. A board applied to the sides of conveyors, usually of the chain type,
to increase the height when coal is being loaded at the face by hand onto
the conveyor. Also applied to a baffle plate used with belt conveyors.
Jones, 1

side-boom dredge

Similar to the hopper dredge except that the discharge, instead of going
into hoppers or directly back into the sea, is carried in a discharge pipe
hung from a boom, a distance of from 200 to 500 ft (60 to 150 m) directly
to port or starboard of the vessel, and there discharged into the
atmosphere, dropping vertically from a height of about 50 ft (15 m) onto
the surface of the sea. The drag heads of the dredge provide a channel,
and the excavated soil is spread over a wide shoal area on either side,
without the necessity of hauling it to the sea. Carson, 2

sidecasting

Piling spoil alongside the excavation from which it is taken.
Nichols, 2

side-discharge shovel

A shovel loader, driven by compressed air or by electricity, for loading
loose coal or rock. A bucket of capacity 21 ft3 (0.59 m3
), hinged to the chassis, digs, lifts, and discharges the material
sideways onto a scraper or belt conveyor; suitable for stable holes,
pillar methods of working, and general repair work. Nelson

side-entrance manhole

A deep manhole in which the access shaft is built to one side of the
inspection chamber. Hammond

side-fired furnace

A furnace with fuel supplied from the side. ASTM