Nitroglycerine mixed with siliceous earth, charcoal, sodium, and sometimes
barium, nitrate, and sulfur. Fay
Said of a mineral deposit formed by the process of mobilization of
elements from a solid rock and their transportation and redeposition
elsewhere. On a local scale, the process may be called a product of
lateral secretion; on a larger scale, the deposit may be called a product
of regional metamorphism. AGI
The origin and formation of rocks, esp. of sedimentary rocks. Also, the
science of the formation of rocks. CF:petrogenesis
Adj: lithogenetic. AGI
The science of the origin of minerals and the causes of their modes of
occurrence. Standard, 2
Of or pertaining to the origin or formation of rocks.
See:lithogenesis
A carving or engraving on a stone or gem; also, a stone or gem so
engraved. Standard, 2
The art of gem cutting; the cutting or engraving of precious stones or
gems. Standard, 2
A compact, dense, homogeneous, exceedingly fine-grained limestone having a
pale creamy yellow or grayish color and a conchoidal or subconchoidal
fracture. It was formerly much used in lithography for engraving and the
reproduction of colored plates. See also:Solenhofen stone
Syn:lithographic stone
A sedimentary texture of certain calcareous rocks, characterized by
uniform particles of clay size and by an extremely smooth appearance
resembling that of the stone used in lithography. AGI
Rocklike or stonelike.
Said of the texture of some dense, microcrystalline igneous rocks, or of
devitrified glass, in which individual constituents are too small to be
distinguished with the unaided eye. AGI
Adj. of lithology. Syn:lithic
The matching or linking up of identical rock formations, veins, or coal
seams, exposed some distance apart, by lithology. See also:correlation
Nelson
a. The character of a rock described in terms of its structure, color,
mineral composition, grain size, and arrangement of its component parts;
all those visible features that in the aggregate impart individuality to
the rock. Lithology is the basis of correlation in coal mines and commonly
is reliable over a distance of a few miles. Nelson
b. The study of rocks based on the megascopic observation of hand
specimens. In French usage, the term is synonymous with petrography.
Holmes, 2
A smooth, indurated variety of common kaolin, consisting at least in part
of a mixture of kaolinite and halloysite. AGI
a. Said of an element that is concentrated in the silicate rather than in
the metal or sulfide phases of meteorites. Such elements concentrate in
the Earth's silicate crust in Goldschmidt's tripartite division of
elements in the solid Earth. CF:chalcophile; siderophile. AGI
b. Said of an element with a greater free energy of oxidation per gram of
oxygen than iron. It occurs as an oxide and more often as an oxysalt, esp.
in silicate minerals. Examples are Se, Al, B, La, Ce, Na, K, Rb, Ca, Mn,
U. Syn:oxyphile
A mineral, such as barite, that becomes phosphorescent when heated.
Syn:lithophosphore
See:lithophosphor
Hollow, bubblelike, or roselike spherulites, usually with a concentric
structure, that occur in rhyolite, obsidian, and related rocks. Sing:
lithophysa.