Basalt glass

Description

A black, glassy, volcanic stone that is composed of Basalt rather than Obsidian. Basalt glass, or glassy basalt, is an amorphous silicate found in Oahu, Hawaii (Brady 1971) and also recently obtained from lunar meteorites (Lindstrom et al 1996). It is also known as Hawaiian obsidian and tachylite. Basalt glass is used for small decorative items and it polishes to a high gloss.

Synonyms and Related Terms

glassy basalt; Hawaiian obsidian; tachylite; tachylyte; verre baltique (Fr.); vidro basáltico (Port.)

Resources and Citations

• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 641

• Lindstroom, M.M., D.W. Mittlefehedt, R.V. morris,R.R., Martinex, "QUE94281 A glassy Basalt-rich Lunar Meteorite similar to Y-793274" Lunar and Planetary Science, March 1996, volume 27, page 761.

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998

• Encyclopedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com Comment: "Basalt." Accessed 9 May 2004.