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Obsidian has been used across history to make weapons, implements, tools, ornaments, and mirrors. Because of its conchoidal fracture (smooth curved surfaces and sharp edges), the sharpest stone artifacts were fashioned from obsidian.
Is obsidian used for anything?
Obsidian can be used to make extremely sharp knives, and obsidian blades are a type of glass knife made using naturally occurring obsidian instead of manufactured glass. Obsidian is used by some surgeons for scalpel blades, although this is not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use on humans.
What god is associated with obsidian?
god Tohil Tezcatlipoca Festivals Toxcatl Personal information Parents Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl (Codex Zumarraga) Siblings Quetzalcoatl, Xipe-Totec, Huitzilopochtli (Codex Zumarraga).
Where is obsidian 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.
Is obsidian a real thing?
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.
What does obsidian look like in real life?
Obsidian has a glassy lustre and is slightly harder than window glass. Though obsidian is typically jet-black in colour, the presence of hematite (iron oxide) produces red and brown varieties, and the inclusion of tiny gas bubbles may create a golden sheen.
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).
What deities are associated with smoke?
As god of fire, Hephaestus became the divine smith and patron of craftsmen; the natural volcanic or gaseous fires already connected with him were often considered to be his workshops.
What is obsidian mirror?
Obsidian Mirror is an Esoteric Obsidian Artifact created by John Dee in 1400. It lives at the The British Museum in London. The image is in the Public Domain, and tagged Magic.
What does Tlaloc mean?
Tlaloc, (Nahuatl: “He Who Makes Things Sprout”) Aztec rain god. Representations of a rain god wearing a peculiar mask, with large round eyes and long fangs, date at least to the Teotihuacán culture of the highlands (3rd to 8th century ad).
Is Bedrock Real?
Bedrock is the hard, solid rock beneath surface materials such as soil and gravel. Bedrock is the hard, solid rock beneath surface materials such as soil and gravel. Bedrock also underlies sand and other sediments on the ocean floor. Bedrock is consolidated rock, meaning it is solid and tightly bound.
Is obsidian really hard?
Obsidian forms sharp edges because of its chemical structure. It’s incredibly hard, and unlike crystalline minerals, which tend to cleave along their structural lines, obsidian has no crystalline structure.
How sharp can obsidian get?
Cutting edge 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 centimeter – an obsidian scalpel can rival diamond in the fineness of its edge.
Why is obsidian smooth?
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.
What is black volcanic rock called?
If a rhyolite lava-stream cools quickly, it can quickly freeze into a black glassy substance called obsidian. When filled with bubbles of gas, the same lava may form the spongy appearing pumice. Allowed to cool slowly, it forms a light-colored, uniformly solid rock called rhyolite.
Is obsidian conductive?
The mineral has no electrical conductivity, is not radioactive, and melts at a temperature of 1200 to 1500 degrees Celsius.
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).
Where can I find rainbow obsidian?
The four mines – Pink Lady, Lassen Creek Rainbow, Needles and Middle Fork Davis Creek – are all located within a few miles of US Hwy 395 in northeast California. Rainbow obsidian found at the Rainbow Mine and Middle Fork Davis Creek is sought after for its colorful sheen.
Where is obsidian found in Australia?
Occurrences of obsidian are rare but scattered through eastern Australia. In our part of Queensland outcrops are known near Eidsvold and in the Peak Range north of Emerald. Volcanic activity was once widespread in what is now Roma and surrounds, with very extensive lava flows.
Is haematite magnetic?
Hematite is a magnetic material that shows interesting magnetism [1, 7]. Bulk hematite is weakly ferromagnetic (FM) between the Néel temperature K and the Morin transition temperature K.
What type of rock is pumice?
Pumice is pyroclastic igneous rock that was almost completely liquid at the moment of effusion and was so rapidly cooled that there was no time for it to crystallize. When it solidified, the vapours dissolved in it were suddenly released, the whole mass swelling up into a froth that immediately consolidated.
How Granite is formed?
Granite is formed when viscous (thick/ sticky) magma slowly cools and crystallises long before it is able to reach the Earth’s surface.
Who is the goddess of death?
Hel, in Norse mythology, originally the name of the world of the dead; it later came to mean the goddess of death. Hel was one of the children of the trickster god Loki, and her kingdom was said to lie downward and northward.
Who is the Chinese god of fire?
In ancient China, Zhurong was the God of Fire, the “Brilliant One of the Forge.” It was he who defeated Gonggong in an epic battle of the gods, a Chinese version of the war in Heaven.
Who is the Viking god of fire?
Also like Prometheus, Loki is considered a god of fire. Loki tricking the blind god Höd into killing Balder. With the female giant Angerboda (Angrboda: “Distress Bringer”), Loki produced the progeny Hel, the goddess of death; Jörmungand, the serpent that surrounds the world; and Fenrir (Fenrisúlfr), the wolf.
