Puttin' on the Rocks
Granite, to be more specific. The name is used for a variety
of light-colored, coarse-grained igneous rocks. Orthoclase
(potassium) feldspar is typically the most abundant mineral
in a granite and significant amounts of quartz and plagioclase
feldspar are generally present. Minor minerals include muscovite
mica, biotite mica, hornblende and others. Light-colored,
igneous rocks such as granite are frequently referred to as
"felsic" rocks.
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Granite
is thought to be the most abundant rock type of the continental
crust. However, because it crystallizes at depth, it is
only exposed at the surface in locations where deep erosion
has taken place - or a rise of the continental plates,
such as the Swiss Alps (the European tectonic plate is
pressing against the African plate; actually, geologically
speaking, half of Switzerland is in Africa!). |
Granite is a very durable stone and is used in a variety of
ways. Its attractive appearance makes it useful as an architectural
stone. Pink granite is used as a facing stone on the Legg
Mason Tower, located at 100 Light Street in Baltimore, Maryland.
It is also widely used in monuments, window sills, street
curbing and other dimension stone uses.
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We
thought these solid blocks to be the perfect encasing
material for our high precision, high speed Micro Machining
Tools. The entire structure of the machines is actually
all-granite, which practically eliminates torsion, vibration
and corrosion (give or take a few thousand years). This
is just another example of how we take our commitment
to the thee 'Q' (quality, quality, quality) serious. |
 Surface
sample (PDF, 136 kB)
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