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THERE HAVE BEEN TWO EVOLUTIONS OF LIFE ON EARTH AND WATER.

Grouping. Depending on the academic source, there are three or four primary clays: kaolinite, montmorillonite-smectite, illite, and chlorite. Clay minerals are composed essentially of silica, alumina or magnesia, or both, and water, but iron substitutes for aluminum and magnesium in varying degrees, and appreciable quantities of potassium, sodium, and calcium are frequently present as well. Clay is an inherently occurring material constituted of fine-grained minerals. The minerals are generally less than 2 microns and appear plastic in the water, which solidifies when dried. … The small size of the particles and their unique crystal structures give clay materials special properties. Clay minerals are composed essentially of silica, alumina or magnesia, or both, and water, but iron substitutes for aluminum and magnesium in varying degrees, and appreciable quantities of potassiumsodium, and calcium are frequently present as well. The unique properties of clay minerals, including nanometric scale, layered construction, the presence of fixed and interchangeable charges, the possibility of adsorbing and hosting (intercalating) molecules, the ability to form stable colloidal dispersions, the case of tailored surface and interlayer chemical modification, and others, make the study of clay chemistry a critical and highly varied field of research. Clay – A finely-grained natural rock or soil containing mainly clay minerals. The weathering of many rock types produces clay minerals as one of its final products. Understanding these geochemical processes is also essential for understanding the geological evolution of landscapes and the macroscopic properties of rocks and sediments. Clay minerals are hydrous aluminum phyllosilicates, sometimes with variable amounts of iron, magnesium, alkali metals, alkaline Earth, and other cations found on or near some planetary surfaces. Clay minerals form in the presence of water and have been necessary to live, and many theories of abiogenesis involve them.
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