Vitrain

vitrain

[′vi‚trān]

(geology)

A brilliant black coal lithotype with vitreous luster and cubical cleavage. Also known as pure coal.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Vitrain

 

one of the components of coal. Its chemical properties are similar to those of the humus substances in peat. The vitrain in coal contains more carbon and has less H, O, and volatile substances in proportion to the degree of transition from the brown coals to anthracite. Vitrain exists in a form of lenses or layers of various thicknesses and is the least cinderlike component of coal.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.