What is the difference between low and high silica?

Answer 1

Lava that is high in silica is very thick, gooey and viscous while lava that is low in silica is more fluid and runnier. High lavas have lower melting points that low silica lavas. High silica lavas produce explosive eruptions and low silica lavas produce gentle eruptions.

Answer 2

Silica is silicon dioxide, and is the most common component of rocks. Different magmas have different amounts of silica in them. High silica magmas are extremely viscous and tend to erupt explosively.

Answer 3

low silica is a type of magma from a volcanoe that is thin and moves very fast. For example, if you put a marble in water, the marble goes down very fast. If this didn't help sorry, I'm learning about it in science now, and that's all i'v learned writ now.

Answer 4

I suppose there are many fields of science that would define different boundaries as for some applications silica contents have to very high or very low.

In igneous petrology people refer to a rock as "low in silica" when the SiO2 content is somewhere around 45 % and high in silica if it is above 65 %. These differences seem not to be very large at the first glance and the absolute levels are arbitrary (and I am sure other geologists would give slightly differing answers).

Nevertheless the SiO2 content is one of the key variable defining the physical properties of silicate rocks and a shift from 45 % SiO2 (this is towards the lower end of the range found in natural silicate rocks) to 65 % (towards the high end of igneous rocks) strongly changes mineralogy, viscosity and melting point of the respective rocks.

Answer 5

A high silica volcano shutes lava further into the sky

Answer 6

if you going to produce Portland cement , silica suppose to be between 1.9-3.1

so the answer , yes silica should be low in lime stone