Talcum Talc Powder - Magnesium Silicate

Talcum Powder, also called Talc, is a clear or dusty luster translucent mineral composed of hydrated magnesium silicate. It is the softest known mineral and can be easily scratched by a fingernail. It is also sectile (can be cut with a knife) and has a specific gravity of 2.5–2.8.

Talc is not soluble in water, but it is slightly soluble in dilute mineral acids. Its colour ranges from white to grey or green and it has a distinctly greasy feel. Its streak is white. Soapstone is a metamorphic rock composed predominantly of talc.

Talc is used in many industries such as paper making, plastic, paint and coatings, rubber, food, electric cable, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, ceramics, etc. It finds use as a cosmetic (talcum powder), as a lubricant, and as a filler in paper manufacture.

Talc Powder is used in baby powder as an astringent powder used for preventing rashes on the area covered by a diaper. It is also often used in basketball to keep a player's hands dry. Most tailor's chalk, or French chalk, is talc, as is the chalk often used for welding or metalworking. Talc is also used as food additive or in pharmaceutical products as a glidant.

Due to its low shear strength, talc is one of the oldest known solid lubricants used as friction reducing additive in lubricating oils. Talc is widely used in the ceramics industry in both bodies and glazes. In low-fire art ware bodies it imparts whiteness and increases thermal expansion to resist crazing.

In stonewares, small percentages of talc are used to flux the body and therefore improve strength and vitrification. Talc is used in manufacturing of wall coatings as a base content Paints. It is also using in agriculture for organic farming and as a detergent powder.

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