[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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