The Creation of Granite
Our planet is at least 4.5 billion years old. The world began as a hot sphere of molten rock. As the Earth cooled, crystals formed and the planets surface was covered by a thick layer of igneous rock. All of the rocks on our planet fall into 1 of 3 types, igneous, metamorphic or sedimentary.
Granite is an igneous rock which is formed far below the Earth’s surface, when the molten rock (Magma) had cooled and hardened.
Granite, The Igneous Rock
Granite is one of the oldest and hardest rock’s, much granite was formed one billion years ago. Granite is mostly found in the mountainous areas of our planet, such as the Alps and the Scottish Highlands. It is crystalline rocks like granite, constitute the foundation of the continental masses.
There are three compositional groups, Quartz, Feldspar and Mica
The porosity ratio is lower in metamorphic and igneous stones, and is generally higher in sedimentary types.
Here are the porosity ratios by percentage:
Granite = 0.4 to 1.5
Marble = 0.5 to 2.0
Slate = 0.4 to 5.0
Limestone = 0.6 to 31.0
It is the texture of an igneous rock which is determined by its rate of cooling. The further below our planets surface the granite was formed, then the slower it cooled, resulting in the creation of larger crystals, and in general producing a lighter colour. The nearer to the earth's surface the granite was formed, the quicker it cooled, which resulted in smaller and stronger crystals, producing darker colours. These are in general the strongest type of granite.
Granite is a far harder and much less porous material than marble. It is
far less prone to random large veining and flaw lines.
Granite is a very heavy material - 1 block weighs around. 250kg.
The strongest form or structure is a complete sphere. The further away from a sphere we go with any material, the weaker it shall become.
A bull-nose edge is far less likely to damage than an square one.
A long flat thin work surface is a far way from the sphere so unless it is well supported it could break under its own weight.
With any cut-out the worktop will be weakened greatly.
Granite is an extremely inflexible material. This means that unlike Corian for example, it’s molecular structure is very resistant to bending or movement.