Sand

Sand

Description

Small, loose grains of rock ranging in size from 0.6 to 2.0 millimeters. Sand is primarily compose of quartz (SiO2), but may also contain small amounts of mica, feldspar, hematite, and nonsoluble salts. It is used as an abrasive, a filter media and an ingredient in glass, ceramics, and concrete.

Synonyms and Related Terms

arena (Esp.); sable (Fr.); areia (Port.); Sand (Deut.); zand (Ned.)

Other Properties

Particle sizes from 0.05 - 2.0 millimeters

Comparisons

Properties of Common Abrasives

Authority

• G.S.Brady, G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 687

• Hoechst Celanese Corporation, Hoechst Celanese Corporation, Dictionary of Fiber & Textile Technology (older version called Man-made Fiber and Textile Dictionary, 1965), Hoechst Celanese Corporation, Charlotte NC, 1990

• Michael McCann, Michael McCann, Artist Beware, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York City, 1979

• Dictionary of Building Preservation, Ward Bucher, ed., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York City, 1996

• Random House, Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998