The use of marble reaches its roots in the depths of centuries. Never before did humanity know the material that embodied such remarkable qualities as the natural beauty of looks, ease of handling, durability and durability. Today, marble is mined in many countries, including Greece, Italy, Spain, India, Turkey, France, Belgium, United Kingdom, Ireland, USA, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa and many others.
Marble – a beautiful and durable stone, perfectly adapted to hold the tremendous weight. In ancient times, marble was used for both monolithic columns supporting the statues and facades of buildings, as well as for the construction of palaces and temples. An example of this can be the monuments of architecture, which is famous for St. Petersburg. You can see the marble in the elegant interior of the Basilica of St. Paul in Rome, and on the walls of the Versailles Palace. And the first building, built entirely of marble, became the famous Athenian treasure of the 6th century BC. The famous Temple of the Parthenon, built in the same period, became the main attraction of Athens, one of the wonders of the world. Although the word “marble” comes from the Greek word Marmaros, which means “stainless white brilliant stone”, you can find a whole palette of colors of this noble natural stone. Modern technologies of natural stone processing allow us to use the beauty of the interiors and the elegance of marble in the interior. Marble in St. Petersburg can be found in the interior decoration of the royal palaces.
Marble refers to metamorphic rocks, formed as a result of recrystallization of carbonates (carbon compounds) more than 2.5-4 billion years ago under the influence of high temperatures and pressures. In the process of recrystallization in metamorphic marbles, as a rule, all traces of primitive debris or fossil organic residues are destroyed. The composition of marble under metamorphism does not change. The initial carbonate rocks for the formation of marble, as a rule, in most cases are limestone or dolomite. Accordingly, marble consists of calcite (calcium carbonate), or dolomite (calcium and magnesium carbonate), or both minerals.
Marble can be white or colored: pink, yellow, gray, blue, green, red, black, brown, and also different combinations of these colors are inherent marble. Even within a single deposit, a number of transitions from one tone of coloring a marble to another is often encountered. Different shades of marble arise due to the content in a greater or lesser number of oxides of various metals and graphite. Colored marble is characterized by the presence of veins, which are cracks filled with natural cements. These veins can create an original drawing. The most valuable kind of marble is pure white marble, which is used to make sculptures.
The marble rocks are strong, very durable, dense, decorative, well processed and easy to accept polishing. The volume of marble varies from 2.3 to 2.6 t / m³, the porosity of marble from 0.6 to 3.3%, the strength of marble to compression from 30 to 153 MPa, the hardness of this natural stone on the Mohs scale from 3 to 4, the water absorption of marble ranges from 0.02% (Levadia) to 3.3% (Travertino).
In marble almost always contains impurities of other minerals (quartz, chalcedony, hematite, pyrite, limonite, chlorite, etc.), as well as organic compounds. Impurities in different ways affect the quality of marble, reducing or increasing the decorative nature of this natural stone. And sometimes nature brings real surprises. For example, on sections of some rocks of Italian marble (Fossil Nero) you can clearly see the imprints of ancient clams. Such stones I want to look at for hours. Most of the colored marble has a mottled coloring. The picture is determined not only by the structure of the marble, but also by the direction by which the natural stone is sprayed. The color and pattern of marble appear after it is polished.
Over time, the meaning of the word marble expanded, including semi-solid and dense polished limestones, which are used as marble. From the point of view of the market, the expressive meaning of the word has expanded further to the understanding of all masonry stones, which can be sprayed on the plate and mirror polishing.
marble properties
List the advantages of marble as facing and building material.
• The relative transparency of marble generates the finest play of light and shadow on the surface of the sculpture.
• even grains and the absence of large inclusions make the structure of marble more homogeneous.
• Convenient handling. Marble is plastic, easy to apply polishing and polishing. Marble – a very viscous and durable natural stone, so when struck immediately does not split, allowing you to cut products of the most different forms.
• High decorative and hygienic properties of marble.
• A large gamut of shades of marble can be made of pieces of this natural stone mosaic panels, as well as whole pictures.
• The beauty of a homogeneous, spotted or layered marble structure.
• Water resistance of most types of marble. Marble with low water absorption coefficient