Current Use
Though not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use on humans, obsidian is used by some surgeons for scalpel blades, as well-crafted obsidian blades have a cutting edge many times sharper than high-quality steel surgical scalpels, the cutting edge of the blade being only about 3 nanometers thick. Even the sharpest metal knife has a jagged, irregular blade when viewed under a strong enough microscope; when examined even under an electron microscope an obsidian blade is still smooth and even. One study found that obsidian incisions produced narrower scars, fewer inflammatory cells, and less granulation tissue in a group of rats. Don Crabtree produced obsidian blades for surgery and other purposes, and has written articles on the subject. Obsidian scalpels may currently be purchased for surgical use on research animals.
Obsidian is also used for ornamental purposes and as a gemstone. It possesses the property of presenting a different appearance according to the manner in which it is cut: when cut in one direction it is jet black; in another it is glistening gray. "Apache tears" are small rounded obsidian nuggets embedded within a grayish-white perlite matrix.
Plinths for audio turntables have been made of obsidian since the 1970s; e.g. the grayish-black SH-10B3 plinth by Technics.
Read more about this topic: Obsidian
Famous quotes containing the word current:
“We all participate in weaving the social fabric; we should therefore all participate in patching the fabric when it develops holes—mismatches between old expectations and current realities.”
—Anne C. Weisberg (20th century)
“Without the Empire we should be tossed like a cork in the cross current of world politics. It is at once our sword and our shield.”
—William Morris Hughes (1864–1952)