See Also: sand(encyclopedia)
tar sand(encyclopedia)
Sand(medicine)
sand fly(encyclopedia)
sand(1)(dictionary)
sand bar(dictionary)
sand(2)(dictionary)
sand fly(dictionary)
sand (as used in expressions)(encyclopedia)
Quick Sand(recipes)

sand (sh)




Mineral, rock, or soil particles that are 0.

0008-0.08 in. (0.02-2 mm) in diameter. Most rock-forming minerals are found in sand, but quartz is by far the most common. Most sands also contain a small quantity of feldspar, as well as white mica. All sands contain small quantities of heavy rock-forming minerals, including garnet, tourmaline, zircon, rutile, topaz, pyroxenes, and amphiboles. In the pottery and glassmaking industries very pure quartz sands are used as a source of silica. Similar sands are used for lining the hearths of steel furnaces. Molds used in foundries for casting metal are made of sand with a clay binder. Quartz and garnet sands are used extensively as abrasives. Among ordinary sand's many uses, it is a basic ingredient of mortar, cement, and concrete. See also tar sand.