Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Clay shopping experience:
1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Clay offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Clay at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.
2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about
3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Clay? Wrong! If the Clay is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.
4. Questions - Got a question about Clay then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....
5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Clay? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Clay and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.
6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Clay wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.
7. Feedback - happy with your Clay then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.
8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Clay site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site
9. Contact - got a question about Clay, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
10. Payment - ready to pay for your Clay, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.
are made almost entirely of clay.
Clay is a naturally occurring material, composed primarily of fine-grained
minerals, which show plasticity (physics) through a variable range of
water content, and which can be hardened when dried or fired. Clay deposits are mostly composed of
clay minerals (
Silicate minerals#Phyllosilicates), minerals which impart plasticity and harden when fired or dried, and variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure by
chemical polarity. Organic matter and materials which do not impart plasticity may also be a part of clay deposits.
Clay minerals are typically formed over long periods of time by the gradual chemical weathering of rocks (usually silicate-bearing) by low concentrations of
carbonic acid and other diluted solvents. These solvents (usually acidic) migrate through the weathering rock after leaching through upper weathered layers. In addition to the weathering process, some clay minerals are formed by hydrothermal activity. Clay deposits may be formed in place as residual deposits, but thick deposits usually are formed as the result of a secondary sedimentary deposition process after they have been eroded and transported from their original location of formation. Clay deposits are typically associated with very low energy depositional environments such as large lake and marine deposits.
Definition
Clays are distinguished from other fine-grained soils by various distinctions.
Silts, which are fine-grained soils which do not include clay minerals, tend to have larger particle sizes than clays, but there is some overlap in both particle size and other physical properties, and there are many naturally occurring deposits which include both silts and clays. The distinction between
silt and clay varies by discipline.
Geologists and soil scientists usually consider the separation to occur at a particle size of 2 Micrometre (clays being finer, silts being coarser),
sedimentologists often use 4-5 μm, and colloid chemists use 1 μm. Geotechnical engineering distinguish between silts and clays based on the plasticity properties of the soil, as measured by the soils' Atterberg Limits. clay in Estonia.
Grouping
Depending upon academic source, there are three or four main groups of clays:
kaolinite, montmorillonite-smectite, illite, and Chlorite group. Chlorites are not always considered a clay, sometimes being classified as a separate group within the phyllosilicates. There are approximately thirty different types of "pure" clays in these categories, but most "natural" clays are mixtures of these different types, along with other weathered minerals.
Varve (or
varved clay) is clay with visible annual layers, formed by seasonal differences in erosion and organic content. This type of
deposit is common in former glacial lakes.
Quick clay is a unique type of
marine clay indigenous to the glaciated terrains of Norway,
Canada and Sweden. It is a highly sensitive clay, prone to liquefaction, which has been involved in several deadly landslides.
Historical and modern uses
Clays exhibit
Plasticity (physics) when mixed with water in certain proportions. When dry, clay becomes firm and when
Pottery firing in a
kiln, permanent physical and chemical reactions occur which, amongst other changes, causes the clay to be converted into a
ceramic material. It is because of these properties that clay is used for making pottery items, both practical and decorative. Different types of clay, when used with different minerals and firing conditions, are used to produce
earthenware,
stoneware and
porcelain. Early humans discovered the useful properties of clay in prehistoric times, and one of the earliest artifacts ever uncovered is a drinking vessel made of sun-dried clay. Depending on the content of the soil, clay can appear in various colors, from a dull gray to a deep orange-red.
Clay was also used as the very first writing medium. Thousands of years BCE the cuneiform script was written in
clay tablets with a blunt reed called a
stylus.
Clays
sintering in fire were the first form of
ceramic, and remains one of the cheapest to produce and most widely used materials to this day.
Bricks, cooking pots, art objects,
dishware and even musical instruments such as the ocarina can all be shaped from clay before being fired. Clay is also used in many industrial processes, such as
paper making, cement production and chemical
filter (chemistry)ing. Additionally, Clay is often used in the manufacture of pipes for smoking
tobacco.
Clay, being relatively impermeable to water, is also used where natural seals are needed, such as in the cores of dams, or as a barrier in
landfills against toxic seepage ('lining' the landfill, preferably in combination with geotextiles).
Preliminary evaluation of a compacted bentonite / sand mixture as a landfill liner material (Abstract) - Koçkar, Mustafa K.; Akgün, Haluk; Aktürk, Özgür; Department of Geological Engineering, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
Recent studies have been carried out to investigate clay's adsorption capacities in various applications, such as the removal of heavy metals from waste water and air purification.
See also
Footnotes
References
| last =Guggenheim
| first =Stephen
| last2 =Martin
| first2 =R. T.
| title =Definition of clay and clay mineral: Journal report of the AIPEA nomenclature and CMS nomenclature committees
| journal =Clays and Clay Minerals
| volume =43
| pages =255–256
| year =1995
| url =http://www.clays.org/journal/archive/volume%2043/43-2-255.pdf
-->
- Clay mineral nomenclature American Mineralogist.
- Ehlers, Ernest G. and Blatt, Harvey (1982). 'Petrology, Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic' San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company. ISBN 0-7167-1279-2.
External links
- Historical information about the clays of North Staffordshire, UK
- Information about clays used in the UK pottery industry
are made almost entirely of clay.
Clay is a naturally occurring material, composed primarily of fine-grained
minerals, which show plasticity (physics) through a variable range of water content, and which can be hardened when dried or fired. Clay deposits are mostly composed of clay minerals (
Silicate minerals#Phyllosilicates), minerals which impart plasticity and harden when fired or dried, and variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure by
chemical polarity. Organic matter and materials which do not impart plasticity may also be a part of clay deposits.
Clay minerals are typically formed over long periods of time by the gradual chemical
weathering of rocks (usually silicate-bearing) by low concentrations of
carbonic acid and other diluted
solvents. These solvents (usually acidic) migrate through the weathering rock after
leaching through upper weathered layers. In addition to the weathering process, some clay minerals are formed by
hydrothermal activity. Clay deposits may be formed in place as residual deposits, but thick deposits usually are formed as the result of a secondary
sedimentary deposition process after they have been eroded and transported from their original location of formation. Clay deposits are typically associated with very low energy depositional environments such as large lake and marine deposits.
Definition
Clays are distinguished from other fine-grained soils by various distinctions. Silts, which are fine-grained soils which do not include clay minerals, tend to have larger particle sizes than clays, but there is some overlap in both particle size and other physical properties, and there are many naturally occurring deposits which include both silts and clays. The distinction between
silt and clay varies by discipline. Geologists and
soil scientists usually consider the separation to occur at a particle size of 2
Micrometre (clays being finer, silts being coarser),
sedimentologists often use 4-5 μm, and colloid chemists use 1 μm. Geotechnical engineering distinguish between silts and clays based on the plasticity properties of the soil, as measured by the soils' Atterberg Limits. clay in Estonia.
Grouping
Depending upon academic source, there are three or four main groups of clays: kaolinite,
montmorillonite-
smectite,
illite, and
Chlorite group. Chlorites are not always considered a clay, sometimes being classified as a separate group within the phyllosilicates. There are approximately thirty different types of "pure" clays in these categories, but most "natural" clays are mixtures of these different types, along with other weathered minerals.
Varve (or
varved clay) is clay with visible annual layers, formed by seasonal differences in erosion and organic content. This type of deposit is common in former glacial lakes.
Quick clay is a unique type of marine clay indigenous to the glaciated terrains of Norway, Canada and Sweden. It is a highly sensitive clay, prone to
liquefaction, which has been involved in several deadly
landslides.
Historical and modern uses
Clays exhibit
Plasticity (physics) when mixed with water in certain proportions. When dry, clay becomes firm and when
Pottery firing in a
kiln, permanent physical and chemical reactions occur which, amongst other changes, causes the clay to be converted into a
ceramic material. It is because of these properties that clay is used for making
pottery items, both practical and decorative. Different types of clay, when used with different
minerals and firing conditions, are used to produce
earthenware,
stoneware and porcelain. Early humans discovered the useful properties of clay in prehistoric times, and one of the earliest artifacts ever uncovered is a drinking vessel made of sun-dried clay. Depending on the content of the soil, clay can appear in various colors, from a dull gray to a deep orange-red.
Clay was also used as the very first writing medium. Thousands of years BCE the
cuneiform script was written in
clay tablets with a blunt
reed called a stylus.
Clays sintering in fire were the first form of
ceramic, and remains one of the cheapest to produce and most widely used materials to this day.
Bricks, cooking pots, art objects,
dishware and even musical instruments such as the ocarina can all be shaped from clay before being fired. Clay is also used in many industrial processes, such as paper making, cement production and chemical filter (chemistry)ing. Additionally, Clay is often used in the manufacture of pipes for smoking
tobacco.
Clay, being relatively impermeable to water, is also used where natural seals are needed, such as in the cores of
dams, or as a barrier in landfills against toxic seepage ('lining' the landfill, preferably in combination with
geotextiles).
Preliminary evaluation of a compacted bentonite / sand mixture as a landfill liner material (Abstract) - Koçkar, Mustafa K.; Akgün, Haluk; Aktürk, Özgür; Department of Geological Engineering,
Middle East Technical University, Ankara,
TurkeyRecent studies have been carried out to investigate clay's
adsorption capacities in various applications, such as the removal of heavy metals from waste water and air purification.
See also
- List of minerals
- London Clay
- Modelling clay
- Paperclay
- Particle size
- Plasticine
- Pottery
- Vertisol
Footnotes
References
| last =Guggenheim
| first =Stephen
| last2 =Martin
| first2 =R. T.
| title =Definition of clay and clay mineral: Journal report of the AIPEA nomenclature and CMS nomenclature committees
| journal =Clays and Clay Minerals
| volume =43
| pages =255–256
| year =1995
| url =http://www.clays.org/journal/archive/volume%2043/43-2-255.pdf
-->
- Clay mineral nomenclature American Mineralogist.
- Ehlers, Ernest G. and Blatt, Harvey (1982). 'Petrology, Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic' San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company. ISBN 0-7167-1279-2.
External links
- Historical information about the clays of North Staffordshire, UK
- Information about clays used in the UK pottery industry
Clay Pigeon Shooting Association - CPSA - Website
Governing body of clay shooting in England includes news, regulations, membership, fixtures, scores, results and permit information. Club directory.
Clay - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Clay is a naturally occurring material composed primarily of fine-grained minerals, which show plasticity through a variable range of water content, and which can be hardened when ...
Clay Pigeon Shooting Scotland
If you are looking for a day out of the office or just to release some office stress, why not try Clay Pigeon Shooting Scotland
Clay Cross Parish Council
Information on the Council, and things to do and see in the village and surrounding area.
Welcome to Clay Shooting.co.uk for Clay Pigeon Shooting Enthu...
Today, As the most popular form of clay shooting, English Sporting provides a shooting environment that offers different layouts and a constant challenge.
Amazon.co.uk: Clay: David Almond: Books
Amazon.co.uk: Clay: David Almond: Books ... RRP: £5.99 : Price: £4.49 & eligible for Free UK delivery on orders over £15 with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
Clay Shooting and corporate leisure at Doveridge Clay Sports.
Shooting grounds located in natural surroundings. Includes facilities offered, opening times and contact.
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