Research Materials: Sand

Basic Property of Sand

Origin:

Bigger rocks from erosion, further refined by water or other substances, often originated from somewhere else, being blown away by wind

Chemical Makeup:

Sand is any material composed of loose, stony grains between 1/16 mm and 2 mm in diameter.

Granite consists of distinct crystals of quartz, feldspar , and other minerals .

How it is made, mined, processed:

Sands are usually created by the breakdown of rocks, and are transported by wind and water , before depositing to form soils, beaches, dunes , and underwater fans or deltas.

The most common sand-forming process is weathering , especially of granite.

What it is used for:

fire extinguisher, beach (naturally formed or artificial), artworks (painting, to increase volume; sculpture)

Pure quartz sands are mined to make glass and the extremely pure silicon employed in microchips and other electronic components.

How it has developed or changed over time:

Deposits of sand are often cemented together over time to form sandstones. Larger particles are categorized as gravel, smaller particles are categorized as silt or clay .

Reference from: http://www.encyclopedia.com/earth-and-environment/geology-and-oceanography/geology-and-oceanography/sand

Something I didn't know about it:

Historically, sand and gravel cannot be clearly distinguished, there's a blurred line between the two.

Link: http://www.etymonline.com/word/sand

Experiment with Sand

* Sand has an extremely high melting point of 1,650 °C (pure quartz), 1,713 °C (silica sand) so it's difficult to melt them in the workshop under a blow torch flame.