Chert

Description

An opaque, white to light-gray, fine-grain stone containing microcrystalline quartz particles. Chert is similar in composition to flint, but has a lighter color. It was used in Paleolithic and Neolithic times for tools, weapons, and vessels. Currently, chert is used as an abrasive, a semiprecious stone, and as an aggregate for the construction of buildings and roads.

Exposed chert

Synonyms and Related Terms

hearthstone; firestone; malmstone; jasper; prase; cherte (Port.); Chert (Deut.)

Other Properties

Fracture = conchoidal

Mohs Hardness	7.0

Additional Information

° B.Aston, J.Harrell, I.Shaw, "Stone" in Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology, P.Nicholson, I.Shaw (eds.), Cambridge University Press, 2000. ° Mineralogy Database: Quartz

Chert near Eureka Lake spillway

Comparisons

Properties of Common Abrasives

Additional Images

• Uplandchertgravels Tert.age.jpg

  Upland chert gravels of Tertiary age

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  Chert

Authority

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

• Encyclopedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com Comment: "chert and flint" Encyclopædia Britannica [Accessed January 22, 2002].

• C.W.Chesterman, K.E.Lowe, Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1979

• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 690

• 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