What Is a Spherometer?

Sphericity refers to the degree to which debris particles are close to a sphere. The sphericity is the shape of the three-dimensional space of the particles. Those with the same triaxiality have the highest sphericity, and the flaky and columnar particles have the lowest sphericity. Sphericity and roundness are two different concepts. The particles with high sphericity do not necessarily have high roundness, because some minerals have high sphericity. ^[1]

Sphericity

Sphericity: The degree to which a particle is close to a sphere.

Influencing factors: depends on the size of the granularity,

Grain Shape Analysis of sediment particles is often helpful in inferring the cause of accumulation and accumulation history. The shape of ordinary mineral particles is much affected

Two different concepts of sphericity and roundness: particles with high sphericity (such as well-shaped garnet) may not necessarily have high roundness; particles with low sphericity (such as long columnar amphibole, The edges are rounded), and its roundness may be high. Sphericity is not only related to the handling distance, but also to the mineral form (such as the sphericity of flaky mica minerals is very low). Generally speaking, for the same mineral, the roundness and sphericity increase with the increase of the transportation distance, so they are one of the standards for measuring the structural maturity of clastic rocks. ^[2]

Sphericity refers to the degree to which the shape of a particle is similar to a sphere.