Surgeon obsidian scalpel1/6/2024 ![]() it is found in volcanic areas or areas were volcanism has occurred sometime in Earth’s history. The fine-grain is due to quick cooling magma. Obsidian under the microscope showing a complex fine-grained texture. Another benefit to using obsidian scalpels is the reduction of healing time for surgical incisions. Given these unique characteristics a German company has created surgical tools that allow doctors to use obsidian instruments on patients who might be allergic to steel. It is 3 times sharper than diamond and between 500-1000 times sharper than a razor or a surgeon’s steel blade resulting in easier incisions and fewer microscopic ragged tissue cuts. Surprisingly, the edge of a piece of obsidian is superior to that of a surgeon’s steel scalpel. Because of its sharp edges early man used it to make cutting tools or arrowheads. ![]() Obsidian has a conchoidal (shell-like pattern) fracture, which means that it breaks like glass and does not form any flat crystal facets. Obsidian is considered more of an igneous rock than a mineral, since glass does not have the crystal structure that defines minerals. Obsidian hand sample showing the glassy texture. The result is a silicon dioxide glass with magnesium and iron to give it the dark color. Obsidian is a volcanic glass created when magma is extruded from a volcano and quickly becomes quenched (cooled) so that crystals have almost no time to grow. Today’s featured rock/mineral piece is on: Obsidian. This entry was posted in Fall 2018 by mbarretttzannes. “Obsidian.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.,, Additional Readings/videos “Obsidian.” Geology, /rocks/obsidian.shtml.īritannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “How Stone Age Blades Still Cut It in Surgery.” CNN, Cable News Network, 2 Apr. The scalpels can also be helpful for patients who might be allergic to the materials used for most surgical tools, such as steel and metal. Obsidian tools have their time and place. Green also knows that using obsidian in medicine is a technique is not useful for every procedure and for every surgeon. Green receives his obsidian scalpels from an expert flint knapper, Errett Callahan. While it may seem odd to be using tools from the stone age in modern medicine, the blades being used today are different than those of ancient humans. It is 3 times sharper than diamond and between 500-1000 times. These scalpels can be used for precise cutting in surgery. Surprisingly, the edge of a piece of obsidian is superior to that of a surgeons steel scalpel. Green has observed that following procedures with obsidian scalpels, patients experience much less scarring than in the same procedure done with steel tools.Ī modern obsidian scalpel. Obsidian’s makeup creates a smooth and continuous edge on a blade, while regular steel tools have a rough edge on their blades at a microscopic level, which can tear into tissue and leave the patient with a longer healing process and more intense scarring. Lee Green at the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Alberta says it is not uncommon for him to use obsidian blades in his work. For its extreme sharpness, modern surgeons have continued to utilize obsidian tools in their work, especially in precise surgeries. An obsidian blade measures in at only 30 angstroms, making it very useful in precise cutting. The average household razor blade is somewhere between 300 and 600 angstroms (unit of measurement used to measure blade fineness). Obsidian has incredibly useful and unique properties. Obsidian is especially useful for its sharp properties, and this is the reason obsidian tools are still on the market and being studied and used in the twenty first century. Arrowheads would only be found in areas where hunting by bow and arrow was prevalent. Two arrowheads produced from obsidian through the process of knapping.
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