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marble or dolomite

Stone Conversations : Archive 12 : Message 00273

From: gary grossman <grossman@zzzzzzzzz>
Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 10:46:29 -0400
Subject: marble or dolomite

Hi Oscar, there are many more knowledgeable folks on the list than me,
but since I'm sitting in front of the keyboard .... <g >. In my
experience marble has a reflective crystalline structure and limestone
or dolomite generally has a non-reflective structure. The scientist in
me wants to deduce that this is from the combination of heat and
pressure that makes marble, well marble, as opposed to pressure alone
which makes limestone, well limestone. Chemically, in pure form, these
rocks are the same. The Kansas limestone that I've carved polishes up
nicely and the tuxedo grey could even be mistaken for marble with a
"matte" finish. Of course if the limestone has impurities then these
could provide some reflections in the stone, but the overall stone
wouldn't have a reflective structure. cheers, g

Gary D. Grossman

G. Grossman Fine Art
http://www.negia.net/~grossman

Distinguished Research Professor - Animal Ecology
Warnell School of Forest Resources
University of Georgia
Athens, GA, USA 30602

http://www.arches.uga.edu/~grossman

Board of Editors - Animal Biodiversity and Conservation
Editorial Board - Freshwater Biology
Editorial Board - Ecology Freshwater Fish

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