![]() ![]() Today’s featured rock/mineral piece is on: Obsidian. half of the 20th cen- tury did Western medicine develop laser technology comparable to the obsidian scalpel used by ancient American Indian surgeons. It was pointed out that surgical steel isn’t actually that good What it does do is take a very fine edge that only has to stay a fine edge for 1 or 2 cuts before its sent to the bin (I’m no surgeon but from what I have seen on TV they don’t seem to be in the habit of making lots of cuts). Obsidian is a volcanic glass created when magma is extruded from a volcano and quickly becomes quenched (cooled) so that crystals have almost no time to grow. This is because on cellular level, obsidian knife cuts between cells. The result is a silicon dioxide glass with magnesium and iron to give it the dark color. an unusual research project that weds modern medicine with archeology and its study. Obsidian hand sample showing the glassy texture. Obsidian is considered more of an igneous rock than a mineral, since glass does not have the crystal structure that defines minerals. Known as Obsidian Cliff, the Yellowstone mountain is one of the country’s highest quality deposits of the sharpest natural substance on Earth, according to Douglas H. But at the same time, it is classified as a mineraloid, since it has mineral qualities, but they are too variable to be pure mineral. Obsidian has a conchoidal (shell-like pattern) fracture, which means that it breaks like glass and does not form any flat crystal facets. It cannot be considered a mineral, because as a glass it is not crystalline, whereas minerals are. Because of its sharp edges early man used it to make cutting tools or arrowheads. Surprisingly, the edge of a piece of obsidian is superior to that of a surgeon’s steel scalpel. ![]() It is 3 times sharper than diamond and between 500-1000 times sharper than a razor or a surgeon’s steel blade resulting in easier incisions and fewer microscopic ragged tissue cuts. Given these unique characteristics a German company has created surgical tools that allow doctors to use obsidian instruments on patients who might be allergic to steel. ![]() Another benefit to using obsidian scalpels is the reduction of healing time for surgical incisions. Obsidian under the microscope showing a complex fine-grained texture. The fine-grain is due to quick cooling magma. ![]()
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