reverse Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 1 What is glass made from? 2 Why is there sand on a beach? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danny8522003 Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 Ingredients OF Glass: Silica Sand 60% Soda Ash 20% Limestone 15% Alumina-Silicate 4% Salt Cake 0.9% Minor Ingredients 0.1% As for sandy beaches, im guessing it is due to erosion of sandstone or are biogenic and created by coral reefs ad washed to shore. Im not an expert, just hazarding a guess... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellbender Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 1 What is glass made from? I'm pretty sure its fused silica. 2 Why is there sand on a beach? Could you imagine a beach without sand? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claudacious Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 1 What is glass made from? Pure silica(SiO2) has a melting point of about 2000 °C (3632 °F)' date=' and while it can be made into glass for special applications (see fused quartz), two other substances are always added to common glass to simplify processing. One is soda (sodium carbonate Na2CO3), or potash, the equivalent potassium compound, which lowers the melting point to about 1000 °C. However, the soda makes the glass water-soluble, which is obviously undesirable, so lime (calcium oxide, CaO) is the third component, added to restore insolubility. (see wikipedia.org) 2 Why is there sand on a beach?[/quote'] Well.. i think it's commonly from the erosion of reefs or solid rocks around the sea.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tetrahedrite Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 As for sandy beaches' date=' im guessing it is due to erosion of sandstone or are biogenic and created by coral reefs ad washed to shore. Im not an expert, just hazarding a guess...[/quote'] Not quite right....but close. Sand is, as you know, mostly quartz (SiO2). Quartz is what we call a resistate mineral, a phase that is highly resistant to both physical and chemical weathering. The fact that it is a resistate mineral means that it hangs around in the environment for a long time and can accumulate, while all of the other rock forming minerals (eg feldspars, clays, calcite, olivines, micas etc) are eventually all weathered or dissolved away. Although coral does occassionally get washed up on the beach, it doesn't hang around for very long because it is highly susceptable to both physical and chemical weathering. The accumulation of sand in this fashion is in fact how sandstone (and other sedimentary rocks) initially form. Other resistate minerals include rutile (TiO2), Zircon (ZrSiO4), and cassiterite (SnO2) and sand is often mined to retrieve these valuable minerals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olmpiad Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 Not quite right....but close. Sand is' date=' as you know, mostly quartz (SiO2). Quartz is what we call a resistate mineral, a phase that is highly resistant to both physical and chemical weathering. The fact that it is a resistate mineral means that it hangs around in the environment for a long time and can accumulate, while all of the other rock forming minerals (eg feldspars, clays, calcite, olivines, micas etc) are eventually all weathered or dissolved away. Although coral does occassionally get washed up on the beach, it doesn't hang around for very long because it is highly susceptable to both physical and chemical weathering. The accumulation of sand in this fashion is in fact how sandstone (and other sedimentary rocks) initially form. Other resistate minerals include rutile (TiO2), Zircon (ZrSiO4), and cassiterite (SnO2) and sand is often mined to retrieve these valuable minerals.[/quote'] You forgot to mention Monazite, well, at least at some beaches... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkepticLance Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 Glass is a silicate salt. It is made by a chemical reaction between ultra pure sand (Silicon dioxide) and an alkali. Once, an impure version was made by extracting alkali from ashes, and reacting with sand. The reaction is dry, and done under extreme high temperatures, in a furnace. The result is molten glass. Why are beaches made of sand? It is due to the sorting action of waves. In fact, beaches can be made of boulders, pebbles, fine sand, coarse sand, coarse or fine mud. It all depends on the average power of the waves on that beach. It just so happens that a common type of beach has a wave action that moves sand grains up the beach, washes mud out to sea, and fails to move pebbles or boulders onto that beach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustStuit Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 I heard that parrot fish produce some sand from eating the coral and pumping it out. Wikipedia Their feeding activity is important for the production and distribution of coral sands in the reef biome and can prevent algae from choking coral. Just thought I'd add that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecoli Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 yes, juststuit, it's part of their digestion cycle. And is the reason why tropical beaches have such nice, light, sand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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