Table of Contents
What can obsidian cut?
Obsidian — a type of volcanic glass — can produce cutting edges many times finer than even the best steel scalpels. At 30 angstroms — a unit of measurement equal to one hundred millionth of a centimetre — an obsidian scalpel can equal diamond in the fineness of its edge.
How thin is an obsidian blade?
Well-crafted obsidian blades, like any glass knife, can have a cutting edge many times sharper than high-quality steel surgical scalpels: the cutting edge of the blade is only about 3 nanometers thick.
Do surgeons use obsidian?
Obsidian is used by some surgeons for scalpel blades, as well-crafted obsidian blades have a cutting edge many times sharper than high-quality steel surgical scalpels, the cutting edge of the blade being only about 3 nanometers thick. Surgeons must be very careful to cut only soft tissues with the obsidian scalpel.
What is the world’s sharpest sword?
Damascus swords — sharp enough to slice a falling piece of silk in half, strong enough to split stones without dulling — owe their legendary qualities to carbon nanotubes, says chemist and Nobel laureate Robert Curl.
Do surgeons still use scalpels?
Scalpels are often used as a symbol of surgery, but actually they do not play a major role any longer in surgery. It is more or less confined to skin incision (Fig. 6.2).
What is special about obsidian?
Obsidian is quite unique due to its smooth, uniform volcanic glass texture. Obsidian is usually considered an extrusive rock, because it usually solidifies above Earth’s surface where the edges of a lava flow come into contact with cool air or water. Geologists call the way obsidian breaks a conchoidal fracture.
Is obsidian good for weapons?
Obsidian is capable of producing an edge sharper than high quality steel razor blades. The macuahuitl was a standard close combat weapon. Use of the macuahuitl as a weapon is attested from the first millennium CE. The weapon was used by different civilisations including the Aztec (Mexicas), Maya, Mixtec and Toltec.
Is obsidian magnetic?
The magnetic properties of obsidian have been recognized by geologists for some time and the causes subject to investigation (e.g., Schlinger et al., 1986). Basic glasses are reported to be more magnetic than acid glasses (George, 1924:370).
Where can obsidian be found in the US?
Obsidian is restricted to volcanic regions, and in the United States, obsidian outcrops are widely distributed in the Mountain West, Southwest, California, Oregon, and Washington State.
Where do I get fire obsidian?
The volcanic highland hosting the fire obsidian is located in southeast Oregon and is an extinct rhyolite dome complex that encompasses approximately 90 km2 at altitudes of 1,400 to 1,950 m (Walker and MacLeod, 1991).
What god is associated with obsidian?
Tezcatlipoca Tezcatlipoca Parents Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl (Codex Zumarraga) Siblings Quetzalcoatl, Xipe-Totec, Huitzilopochtli (Codex Zumarraga) Children None.
What does basalt look like?
Basalt is usually dark grey to black in colour, due to its high content of augite or other dark-coloured pyroxene minerals, but can exhibit a wide range of shading. Some basalts are quite light-coloured due to a high content of plagioclase, and these are sometimes described as leucobasalts.
Why are katanas so sharp?
Katana-makers use two types of tamahagane: high-carbon, which is very hard and allows for a razor-sharp edge, and low-carbon, which is very tough and allows for shock absorption. A sword composed simply of one kind of steel or the other would either dull too quickly or be too brittle.
Why is obsidian shiny?
That’s because obsidian is volcanic glass. It forms when volcanic lava cools so quickly, there’s no time for crystals to grow. This gives the rock a black, smooth, glossy shine.
How sharp is Diamond?
Blade angles of diamond knives vary from 35 to 60 degrees. The smaller angled knives are used for finer cutting, but these knives are prone to damage.
Is obsidian hard to break?
Weapons are not made from it and it is very hard to break. In reality, obsidian is easily broken by human action and can also be worn down by the weather. While obsidian is not used to build indestructible walls or portals, it is used to make surgical tools.
Is obsidian found in Oregon?
One of the best deposits of obsidian for lapidary purposes is the Glass Buttes area of central Oregon. The Buttes are a series of low hills and ridges just south of Highway 20 between Bend and Burns. The deposit is renown for the several gem varieties of obsidian dug.
Is obsidian real?
Earth > If Rocks Could Talk > Obsidian. Rondi: Everyone, meet Obsidian , an igneous rock that from melted rock, or magma. Obsidian is an “extrusive” rock, which means it is made from magma that erupted out of a volcano.
How much does an obsidian scalpel cost?
Obsidian Scalpels Item No. Blade Shape Price 10110-01 Straight $85.00 10110-03 Straight $85.00 10110-05 Straight $103.00 10110-07 Angled $110.00.
Can a katana cut a bullet in half?
The sword wins, cutting the bullet in two. And with no dents, scratches or nicks in the blade. It’s extremely difficult to cut a human being in half at the torso, no matter how sharp your blade is.
Did King Arthur have 2 swords?
Clarent is one of King Arthur’s two mythic swords. The first is Excalibur, the sword of war, and the second Clarent, the sword of peace. The Clarent sword is less known because it was used for peaceful acts, whereas the Excalibur was well known because it was used to defend Camelot.
What knives are the sharpest?
Obsidian knife blades: overkill for slicing your sandwich. The thinnest blades are three nanometres wide at the edge – 10 times sharper than a razor blade. These are made by flaking a long, thin sliver from a core of obsidian (volcanic glass).
What is the sharpest rock in the world?
Because of its conchoidal fracture (smooth curved surfaces and sharp edges), the sharpest stone artifacts were fashioned from obsidian. Some of these, mostly arrowheads, have been dated by means of the hydration rinds that form on their exposed surfaces through time (see obsidian-hydration-rind dating).
