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is diatomacious earth the same thing as vermicullite?

updated tue 8 jan 02

 

Anji Henderson on sun 6 jan 02


Hey Bamboo Karen and all ...

I suppose in the clay forming sense diatomacious and
vermicullite can be considered the same thing... But
in the composition sense of them they are not...

diatomacious, is Diatom which are alge that are very
comonly found in fresh and salt water. The feature
which distinguishes them from all other alge is the
siliceous wall which encloses them. This is composed
of two halves or valves, one of which fits over the
other much as a cover fits on to a box. These
siliceous walls are often beautifully marked with the
finest and most regularly arranged patterns, which
make these alge objects of great beauty when seen
under a microscope.

Aceous- is defined by Merriam Websters Dictionary as
Main Entry: -aceous
Function: adjective suffix
Etymology: Latin -aceus
1 a : characterized by : full of b :
consisting of : having the nature or
form of
2 a : of or relating to a group of animals typified by
(such) a form or characterized by (such) a
feature b : of or relating to a plant
family

Now, vermicullite, is heat expanded Mica... which is a
mineral with pseudo-hexagonal crystals ...

Ok hope you all enjoyed it because that was my one
smart sounding thing for the year... :) I call them
cranium-smart-farts, they are few and far between...
:)

Of course I had a little help from the web and DH....

Anji


--- Karen Sullivan wrote:
> If diatomacious earth is in fact the same thing
> as vermicullite...I have used it pressed into
> the clay and then fired in low salt platters....
> perhaps it would work as well with raku...
> roll the leather hard piece of clay around in a pile
> of the stuff...
> The result after firing at cone 1 or
> lower is gold sprinkles...
> Don't know what would happen if high fired...
> bamboo karen


=====
Good art does not have to match your sofa!!
-Fred Babb

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Karen Sullivan on sun 6 jan 02


If diatomacious earth is in fact the same thing
as vermicullite...I have used it pressed into
the clay and then fired in low salt platters....
perhaps it would work as well with raku...
roll the leather hard piece of clay around in a pile
of the stuff...
The result after firing at cone 1 or
lower is gold sprinkles...
Don't know what would happen if high fired...
bamboo karen

Cyberpotter@AOL.COM on sun 6 jan 02


According to online sources:

Diatomaceous earth is made up of microscopic skeletal remains of unicellular
algae-like plants called diatoms, and is about 87% silicon oxide. More info
here: http://www.hydromall.com/happy_grower16.html

Vermiculite is hydrated laminar magnesium-aluminum-ironsilicate which
resembles mica, expands worm-like on heating, and contains 38-46% SiO2. I
believe vermiculite is dervied from volcanic rock. More info here:
http://www.vermiculite.org/

Nancy in Cincinnati