So I was scratching my head after the last article was posted, wondering if I’ve started off my blogging experience in the right way. I feel as if I jumped right into the water up to my neck without first helping you guys get familiar with some basic concepts and meanings. Many times you get carried away for being in this industry for such a long time. So with this article, I am hoping to cover some basic spots I may have left uncovered and unfilled. So hopefully any questions you have or any doubts on asbestos, will be solved by the end of this article.
Asbestos is a universal name for some naturally occurring fibrous mineral silicates as observed under the asbestos microscope. There are six various kinds of asbestos, the anthophyllite, actinolite, crocidolite, amosite, chrysotile and tremolite. Every one is diverse in physical and chemical characteristics depending on the other elements of the rock such as magnesium, iron or calcium.
The first citations to asbestos can be mapped out to certain ancient philosophers. One of the students of Aristotle referred to an anonymous matter that bore a resemblance to rotten wood in the book On Stones, inscribed at approximately 300 B.C. The origin of the term comes from the Greek word chrysos, which means gold and tilos, which means fiber known as goldfiber. During the first one hundred years the geographer, Strabo recognized the first Greek asbestos mine on the island of Evvoia in which fibrous stone threads were combed and spun similar to wool in order to create a variety of fireproof cloth stuff. The whole time asbestos has acquired numerous names like rock floss, feathered alum, incombustible linen and mountain leather.
For the reason of the distinct physical characteristics that asbestos has, it has gathered numerous tales of magical powers. At medieval period alchemists began the story that asbestos developed like a hair on flame-resistant salamanders. A prevalent myth is that the French Emperor, Charlemagne placed an asbestos tablecloth on fire and withdrew it again unscathed in order to amaze several of his dinner guests.
Asbestos has a great thermal strength, exceptional tensile potency, which is more durable than steel, defiance to chemical assault, good thermal and electrical resistance and capability to be subdivided into fine fibers. Precise lengthwise basal cleavage is a property of asbestos. Colors that are vividly seen using the asbestos microscope are of a number of varieties like brown, green, black, gray, white, or bluish gray and they are commonly seen in metamorphic rocks. It flashes between cross-polarized light, which means that it is an anisotropic mineral.
For example is a thin portion of tremolite viewed under cross-polarized light. Such was captured with the use of a petrographic-microscope equipped with a small digital camera. The images are magnified at a hundred times so the fibrous nature in the crystals can be noticed. The colors that can be viewed are first or second order of obstructing figures generated by various wavelengths of light that are refracted faintly at various angles.
Asbestos fibers, which can only be seen under the asbestos microscope, can infiltrate the bodily tissue specifically the lungs and gradually initiate the growth of the tumors. The biggest single source of asbestos in the enclosed area of air that the people inhale is insulation because it has been utilized in majority of the buildings erected in the past fifty years. These fibers do not simply turn into airborne by themselves commonly the restoration or destruction of structures can lead to the emission of fibers. The use of asbestos in 1973 were high closely a million tons. It has dropped at approximately ninety five percent from that time on. In the future, scientists are expected to come up with an idea that will make use of this mineral in a safe manner.
Hopefully my initial goal here was achieved: you got a greater grasp on the idea of asbestos and its practical importance in our every day lives. I am sure you guys still have a bunch of questions for me. Especially the college students, are probably thinking I speak Mandarin or something. Don’t be afraid to address those questions. Allow me to help you understand these very basic ideas and concepts because if you don’t, you will surely get lost in everything we are going to be talking about in the future.