A trioctahedral member of the brittle mica group. The end-member formula is: CaMg₂Al(Al₃Si)O₁₀(OH)₂. Typical site substitutions include: Ca > Na, K; Fe²⁺, Al, Fe³⁺, Mn for Mg; and Al and Fe³⁺ for Si or ^ivAl. The common polytype is 1M, and the 2M₁ , 1M_d, and 3T are rare. The Loewenstein Al avoidance rule is violated in that the tetrahedral content of Al₃Si requires that Al tetrahedra share bridging oxygen atoms with other Al tetrahedra, which is unusual in aluminosilicate minerals. Clintonite occurs in metasomatically altered limestones, which involves thermal metamorphism coupled with a restrictive bulk composition undersaturated in silica.

A commercial-grade clumping clay is a clay where coherent clumps, capable of easy removal from a liter box, form from exposure to cat urine. Commercial clumping clays have added hydrophilic polymers to improve coherency and strength of the resultant clumps. The addition of these polymers is to address the problem of very concentrated urine in some cats, especially male cats, where the salt concentrations are very high. Manufacturers in the U.S. commonly use Na-rich montmorillonite from Wyoming and South Dakota as clumping clays.

An ion with a charge of the same sign as the charge of the solid interface.
Cf., counter ion

An occurrence of a solid phase precipitate along with other components from solution. The mineral sorbent may partially or completely dissolve or the solution may become oversaturated with respect to a phase so that components may re-precipitate along with other components from solution.

The process of coarsening of particles from a thermodynamically unstable dispersion. The total surface area is reduced.

See hydrotalcite group.

A primitive style of ceramic with rough surfaces, e.g., roofing tiles, ceiling tiles, cooking vessels. This kind of ceramic was common for everyday items in ancient periods (e.g., Roman, early Egyptian, prehistoric)
Cf., pottery, ceramic, white wear.

In soil science, a coating is a layer of material, such as clay, organic material, mineral, non-crystalline material, etc., that partially or completely covers soil components (e.g., grains, voids). The term excludes b-fabrics.
Syn., cutan;
Cf., hypo-coating

Cohesion refers to the attractive forces (e.g., van der Waals, Coulombic) between two molecules of the same kind or two surfaces of similar material. For example, the shear strength of wet clayey soils involves both cohesive forces and friction. For wet clayey soils, the cohesion component of shear strength primarily results from the surface interactions between two clay particles (of similar composition and structure).
Cf., adhesion

An entity, either a solid or a liquid, dispersed in a medium. The entity must have one of its dimensions between 1 nm and 1 μm. A colloid dispersed in a liquid is also termed a “sol”. The term may be used also for the system as a whole. (after Lyklema 1991).
See gelling clay.