Marble

Marble is a rock that got its name from the Greek word "marmaros" (in translation - shiny, shining). It is a durable yet easy-to-work material, suitable for both the creation of exquisite sculptures and the construction of colossal architectural complexes. Today, marble is one of the most popular finishing materials in design and architecture.

Pure marble has a snow-white color and is quite rare. This is a statuary, fine-grained type of stone that is used in sculptural art. Even a small percentage of impurities significantly affects the color of the stone, and the shade can vary within one deposit or even a block.

In nature, there are yellow, pink, blue, greenish, reddish and even black shades. Colored rocks are characterized by a large number of veins - these are cracks filled with natural cements.

Marble colors:

• Sculpted white marble. It is a homogeneous rock with a fine-grained structure and high plasticity, making this type of stone easy to cut and grind.
• Light blue (blue) is one of the most valuable breeds. The blue tint to marble is given by blue diopside, a mineral also known as violan.
• Black - contains a high percentage of bituminous or graphite impurities. A rare, expensive, extremely effective variety. Rocks with a blue tint contain inclusions of iron sulfides.
• Beige - contains inclusions of manganese and limonite (brown iron ore).
• Red is a valuable variety saturated with iron oxides. The more impurities in the composition, the richer the color. Pink marble, accordingly, has a lower percentage of oxides.
• Brown - this shade is obtained due to the presence of manganese and iron carbonate in the composition.
• Green - this shade is given to marble by chlorite inclusions.

Marble is a strong, durable and temperature-resistant stone. During mechanical processing, the material retains its original structure: it does not exfoliate, does not break, does not form internal cracks.

Marble characteristics:

• Density - 1.9-2.8 g / cm³. For comparison, the density of granite is 2.6 g / cm³.
• Specific gravity - depends on density and impurities. 1 m³ of marble weighs 2300-2600 kg on average.
• Mohs scale hardness - 2.5-3. Corresponds to the hardness of gold and silver. Marble can be easily scratched with a knife. For comparison, the hardness of granite on the Mohs scale is 8 points.
• Abrasion - 0.40 to 3.20 g / cm². This is the third group of abrasion, which also includes loose basalts and sandstones. If you make a marble staircase in your personal apartment, it will wear out 0.02 mm annually and last 500 years.

Marble is known for its high mechanical strength. According to this indicator, it exceeds concrete by 2-2.5 times. Due to the filamentous structure, this stone is able to withstand high static and dynamic loads. And even if you break a marble tile, the fracture line will not have sharp edges and can be easily polished.