Abstract
The heat of wetting, the diffusibility of hydrogen and isotopic prothium-deutrium exchange, indicate that a part of the water in a clay-water system should be considered as belonging to the mineral phase. The minerals thus consist of a central silicate skeleton with an outer part of aqueous composition. The presence of this outer part is the essential characteristic of the mineral phase in a clay-water system. Typical clay properties, such as cohesion and plasticity, are discussed in terms of this concept. The Bowden friction theory is assumed to be valid in clay-water systems.

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