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Tachylite (/ ˈ t æ k ə l aɪ t / TAK-ə-lyte; also spelled tachylyte) is a form of basaltic volcanic glass. This glass is formed naturally by the rapid cooling of molten basalt. It is a type of mafic igneous rock that is decomposable by acids and readily fusible. [citation needed] The color is a black or dark-brown, and it has a greasy ...
Pele's hair, with a hand lens as scale Strands of Pele's hair under microscope view. Pele's hair (closest modern Hawaiian translation: "lauoho o Pele " [1]) is a volcanic glass formation produced from cooled lava stretched into thin strands, usually from lava fountains, lava cascades, or vigorous lava flows.
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 ]
Pele's tears are also found entangled within fine strands of volcanic glass known as Pele's hair and it was considered that they formed together under similar conditions. [1] Shimozura (1994) investigated this further and found that the velocity of the erupting lava was the main factor in determining whether Pele's tears or Pele's hair were formed.
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. Tachylite (also spelled tachylyte), a basaltic glass with relatively low ...
Apache tears are rounded pebbles of obsidian or "obsidianites" composed of black or dark-colored natural volcanic glass, usually of rhyolitic composition and bearing conchoidal fracture. Also known by the lithologic term marekanite , this variety of obsidian occurs as subrounded to subangular bodies up to about 2 in (51 mm) in diameter, often ...
Helenite, also known as Mount St. Helens obsidian, emerald obsidianite, and ruby obsidianite, is a glass made from the fused volcanic rock dust from Mount St. Helens and marketed as a gemstone. [1] [2] Helenite was first created accidentally after the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980.
Pitchstone is a dark coloured, glassy volcanic rock formed when felsic lava or magma cools quickly. Since it is a volcanic glass, pitchstone may have a conchoidal fracture. Pitchstones may also contain phenocrysts, in which case it is a form of vitrophyre. Pitchstone has a resinous lustre, or silky in some cases, and a variable composition. Its ...