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Physical Properties and Uses of Marble

Marble occurs in large deposits that can be hundreds of feet thick and geographically extensive. This allows it to be economically mined on a large scale with some mines and quarries producing millions of tons per year.

Most marble is made into either crushed stone or dimension stone. Crushed stone is used as an aggregate in highways, railroad beds, building foundations and other types of construction. Dimension stone is produced by sawing marble into pieces of specific dimensions. These are used in monuments, buildings, sculptures, paving and other projects. We have an article about "the uses of marble" that includes photos and descriptions of marble in many types of use.

Color:   Marble is usually a light-colored rock. When it is formed from a limestone with very few impurities it will be white in color. Marble that contains impurities such as clay minerals, iron oxides or bituminous material can be bluish, gray, pink, yellow or black in color.

Marble of extremely high purity with a bright white color is very useful. It is often mined, crushed to a powder and then processed to remove as many impurities as possible. The resulting product is called "whiting". This powder is used as a coloring agent and filler in paint, whitewash, putty, plastic, grout, cosmetics, paper and other manufactured products.

Acid Reaction:   Being composed of calcium carbonate, marble will react in contact with many acids, neutralizing the acid. It is one of the most effective acid neutralization materials. Marble is often crushed and used for acid neutralization in streams, lakes and soils.

It is used for acid neutralization in the chemical industry. A pharmaceutical product known as "Tums" is a small calcium carbonate pill, sometimes made from powdered marble, that is used by people who suffer from acid reflux or acid indigestion. Powdered marble is used as an inert filler in other pills.

Hardness:   Being composed of calcite, marble has a hardness of three on the Mohs hardness scale. As a result, marble is easy to carve and that makes it useful for producing sculptures and ornamental objects. The translucence of marble makes it especially attractive for many types of sculptures.

The low hardness and solubility of marble allows it to be used as a calcium additive in animal feeds. Calcium additives are especially important for dairy cows and egg-producing chickens. It is also used as a low hardness abrasive for scrubbing bathroom and kitchen fixtures.

Ability to Accept a Polish:   After being sanded with progressively finer abrasives, marble can be polished to a high luster. This allows attractive pieces of marble to be cut, polished and used as floor tiles, architectural panels, facing stone, window sills, stair treads, columns and many other pieces of decorative stone.

Material for marble flooring in Abu Road is available at stores that specialize in the sale of tiles. Tile stores can be found on the internet as well as at brick and mortar stores. Home improvement centers carry limited amounts of tiles for marble floors, including white marble. Marble is available in large slabs for countertops and a home improvement company can obtain the pieces at a cheaper rate because they buy i bulk

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