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Re: Pyramidiocy (was Re: Strange Maths)
Jim C. Adamski (jadamski@ar20darlrk.er.usgs.gov)
28 Jul 1995 13:48:12 GMT
In article <3v7b8n$1u2@shore.shore.net>, Whittet@shore.net (Whittet) writes:
> In article <3v62cg$3vo@qvarsx.er.usgs.gov>, jadamski@ar20darlrk.er.usgs.gov says...
> >
> >In article <1995Jul26.163155.20052@hfsi.hfsi.com>, nowakp@hfsi.hfsi.com (Paul
> >Nowak) writes:
> >> harryr6047@aol.com (HarryR6047) writes:
> >>
> >> >Doug Weller states: But you claim that people tried and failed.
> >>
> >stuff deleted
>
> >Now I'm reading this from sci.geo.geology (which, BTW, what
> >does any of this have to do with geology), and, being a
> >geologist, I have to say that even if all the numbers and
> >angles of the pyramid correlate to days in a decade and fleas
> >on the pharoah's cat, so what? What does it prove?
>
> Forget that, I have a geology question for you Jim. What hardness
> on the mohr scale does it take to cut Diorite?
>
> ( The Egyptians were supposedly using copper chisels)
>
> Could they have used something like a powder or paste of some
> semi precious gem as an abrassive with which to cut? What would
> it have taken? A corrundum or would they have had to use diamonds?
> >
Not my field of study, but I'll try to answer this anyway.
Diorite is a rock (amalgamation of minerals) and therefore does
not have a specific hardness on Mohs scale. Most of the
minerals that comprise diorite would range in hardness from 5 -
7 (scale goes from 1 - 10, with talc being 1 and diamond being
10). Of course the cumulative hardness of the rock is going to
be less than the minerals because of weakness between the
crystals. Also weathering may play a role. The paste sounds
like an ok idea, but I've never tried it and I suspect it would
take a long time. Today, diamond embedded saw blades are used
to cut rocks. Pastes are used to grind and polish rocks. I used
a paste (corundum-based, I believe) to make thin sections
(slabs of rock glued to slides for viewing under a microscope)
way back in undergrad days. You put the paste on a piece of
plate glass, then rub the thin section over it many times for
a period of hours or days to get the desired thickness (or
thinness. I'll bet there's an easier way to do it than that).
Anyway, it's pretty slow and laborious. And I was making my
sections out of limestone, which is comprised of the mineral
calcite with a hardness of 3.
Which brings me to my question. Excuse my ignorance, but I
thought the blocks in the pyramid were made of limestone? I
seem to remember them saying that on the Nova episode. If they
were limestone, it would be possible to cut the blocks with
copper tools.
Hope this helps.
Jim
P.S. Personally, I find the Inca ruins much more fascinating.
All those irregulr blocks of basalt (?) fitted with extremely
tight joints. Amazing stuff. Still, I don't find any great
mystery in it. I mean, the mechanism they used may be unknown
to us, but clearly they did it. Motivation plays a key. Of
course, having an absolute monarch dictating his architectural
desires helps.
Opinions are my own.
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