2
   

What are these?

 
 
EHowe
 
Reply Sat 30 May, 2015 02:14 pm
Hi, not sure if this is the right place to ask but I have these items pictured.
I got them a while ago, a few years I'd say. I have no idea what they actually are, if someone could give me any more info I'd be very grateful.
The darker one on the left has brown streaks through it if that helps.

https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xta1/v/t34.0-12/11125098_1625628497677999_1218705175_n.jpg?oh=f2836f8709d1b54d8be2ee70ad0faaa5&oe=556C9AD5

https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xta1/v/t34.0-12/11273716_10153714487589879_1329760122_n.jpg?oh=e60b12ba2afdc6423f6b4f85291aeb94&oe=556CDB25
  • Topic Stats
  • Top Replies
  • Link to this Topic
Type: Question • Score: 2 • Views: 747 • Replies: 5
No top replies

 
dalehileman
 
  1  
Reply Sat 30 May, 2015 02:30 pm
@EHowe,
Left, EH, obsidian; middle, chalcedony
0 Replies
 
farmerman
 
  1  
Reply Sat 30 May, 2015 11:30 pm
@EHowe,
I have no idea and Id need to see em in hand to give an opinion.
It could be what dale said.

That center one actually looks like a piece of Rene Lalique glass from an old hood ornament on a Rolls.
The black one on the left, if you hold it up to a light, can you see translucency? If you rotate it in the light does it change color?
If it changes color its tourmaline, otherwise it IS volcanic glass like obsidian that has been tumpled and polished or cut, then tumbled and polished

The one on the right looks really soft, so Id guess some form of calcite or celestite or some kind of soft silicate thats been machine turned and roughly polished. Get a glass with a few inches of vinegar and gently place the far right one in the vinegar and tell us if it fizzes a biit. (If it does, take it out and wash it off cause its a carbonate of some kind (probably calcite).

EHowe
 
  1  
Reply Sun 31 May, 2015 12:10 am
@farmerman,
Thanks for the reply.
The black one isn't translucent at all and doesn't change colour, from looking around it is most likely obsidian.

Still puzzled about the middle and right ones though. I put the right one in vinegar but it didn't fizz at all, the middle one looks almost cloudy inside and has a purple streak in the green area below.

*EDIT* Also, the black one has brown streaks through it almost resembling what you would see in a polished dark wood.

Any ideas?
dalehileman
 
  1  
Reply Sun 31 May, 2015 02:57 pm
@EHowe,
Quote:
The black one isn't translucent at all and doesn't change colour, from looking around it is most likely obsidian
Except, EH, obsidian is oft translucent. If you have another one like it that isn't as pretty, whack it. Obsidian will shatter like glass

It is glass

Quote:
I put the right one in vinegar but it didn't fizz at all
I never found vinegar very successful
farmerman
 
  1  
Reply Sun 31 May, 2015 03:53 pm
@dalehileman,
vinegar will always causecalcite to bubble lightly, if it doesnt, powder it then vinegarie it , if it fizzes, that means it was actually dolomite.
If not, then its a silicate. It alway works dale.
I use hydrochloric acid 0.1 N in droppr bottle with a tight lid. Ive seen people spill HCl and burn themselves. With students I always hd them use acetic acid from the photo labs or vinegar from the supermarket.
Obsidian should be translucent, maybe its schorl tourmaline. Since all this stuff was either polished or cut an polished, I wonder if the black one isnt a piece of anthracite(they make really interesting sculpture from anthracite here in Pa coal country.
Although theres not too many places in US or Canada that even hve anthracite deposits
0 Replies
 
 

Related Topics

What is this..? - Discussion by jaygree
what are these marks on the rock? - Question by MaAxx8
good videos to learn geology - Discussion by danman68
MT Antero Colorado - Question by The Corpsman
Yttrium and Niobium in Granite - Question by EvilPenguinTrainer
Birth of an Ocean - Discussion by GoshisDead
Biotite vs Brown Hornblende - a noob question - Question by AllGoodNamesAreTaken
What's The Point To Geology? - Question by mark noble
Help Identifying Rocks - Discussion by mthick
identify kind of rocks - Question by georgevan1
 
  1. Forums
  2. » What are these?
Copyright © 2024 MadLab, LLC :: Terms of Service :: Privacy Policy :: Page generated in 0.04 seconds on 04/25/2024 at 09:29:54