[Sca-cooks] Soapstone Re: Lemon syrup.

Terry Decker t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net
Fri Jun 15 12:54:51 PDT 2007


> Was written:
>
> Soapstone spreads heat evenly and well, so well that Tulikiva (I think
> that's spelled right) uses it in  wood fired stoves designed for heating
> rooms.  The big drawback is they, like ceramic tiles, can break easily.
>
> My response:
>
> Soapstone, also know as steatite, is talc, a magnesium silicate. It is 
> used
> for laboratory table tops and lab sinks as it is unattacked by acids.   We
> have a number of both in our building.  I do recall reading that it was 
> and
> is traditionally used in wood stoves in Europe because of its heat 
> retaining
> qualities. It is rather soft. Pure talc can be scratched with a finger 
> nail.
>
> Daniel
>
> mka
>
> Daniel C. Phelps, P.G.
> Florida Geological Survey

If I have the right of it, talc is hydrous magnesium silicate, which is 
deposited by sedimentation or hydrothermal injection.  Talc is also used to 
describe the softest form of soapstone, a metamorphic rock consisting mainly 
of magnesium silicate with varying amounts and kinds of chlorite.  Talc has 
a Moh's hardness of 1.  Soapstone has a Moh's hardness varying between 1 and 
3.  Steatite is more commonly used to describe the harder varieties of 
soapstone which are used as countertops and heat sinks.

Bear 



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