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Obsidian (/ ə b ˈ s ɪ d i. ən, ɒ b-/ əb-SID-ee-ən ob-) [5] is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock. [6] Produced from felsic lava, obsidian is rich in the lighter elements such as silicon, oxygen, aluminium, sodium, and potassium.
Most commonly, volcanic glass refers to obsidian, a rhyolitic glass with high silica (SiO 2) content. [7] Other types of volcanic glass include the following: Pumice, which is considered a glass because it has no crystal structure. Apache tears, a kind of nodular obsidian.
Nephelinite – Igneous rock made up almost entirely of nepheline and clinopyroxene – A silica-undersaturated plutonic rock with >90% nepheline; Norite – Mafic intrusive igneous rock – A hypersthene-bearing gabbro; Obsidian – Naturally occurring volcanic glass; Pegmatite – Igneous rock with very large interlocked crystals
Phaneritic (phaner = visible) textures are typical of intrusive igneous rocks, these rocks crystallized slowly below Earth's surface. As magma cools slowly the minerals have time to grow and form large crystals. The minerals in a phaneritic igneous rock are sufficiently large to see each individual crystal with the naked eye.
These rocks are fine-grained and sometimes cool so rapidly that no crystals can form and result in a natural glass, such as obsidian, however the most common fine-grained rock would be known as basalt. Any of the three main types of rocks (igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks) can melt into magma and cool into igneous rocks. [2]
Igneous rock (igneous from Latin igneus 'fiery'), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. The magma can be derived from partial melts of existing rocks in either a planet's mantle or crust.
It often occurs in amorphous or fine-grained mineraloids such as flint, opal or obsidian, but may also occur in crystalline minerals such as quartz. Subconchoidal fracture is similar to conchoidal fracture, but with less significant curvature. Note that obsidian is an igneous rock, not a mineral, but it does illustrate conchoidal fracture well.
QAPF diagram for classification of plutonic rocks. A QAPF diagram is a doubled-triangle plot diagram used to classify intrusive igneous rocks based on their mineralogy.The acronym QAPF stands for "Quartz, Alkali feldspar, Plagioclase, Feldspathoid (Foid)", which are the four mineral groups used for classification in a QAPF diagram.