h a l f b a k e r yA hive of inactivity
add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, random
news, help, about, links, report a problem
browse anonymously,
or get an account
and write.
register,
|
|
|
Cast Stone
Igneous or Metamorphic Rocks cast to specifications. | |
Making rocks is not a very complex process- it happens all the time at
volcanoes all over the world. In fact, molten rock isn't all that hot
compared to the melting point of many modern materials. Iron, in
fact, melts at a higher temperature than cool lava. I propose heating
rock until it melts
in a "good" blast furnace (admittedly by good in
this case I probably mean one of those crazy solar things or maybe
even a small reactor) and pouring it into a mold. The result is a cast
stone that can be used for building. Stone has a lot of advantages for
energy efficent and aesthetics, but it's hard to get these days and
harder to work. This allows scrap stone to be processed into shapes
that are easy to use.
Artificial stone and method for making
http://patft.uspto....73484&RS=PN/4173484
[ldischler, Apr 29 2007]
[link]
|
| |
This reminds me of a much less plausible idea I had in school. I wanted to melt wood by heating it in an argon filled kiln. My idea sucked but yours should work. |
|
| |
Iron and steel are cast in sand molds. What are you going to use for molds here? |
|
| |
A bun, but only if you set up production near Kilauea or any other active volcano and use *real* magma. [+] |
|
| |
and would the work on the very first
stone to emerge from the forge be
given over to he who is without sin? |
|
| |
Psst, [xenzag], [it] already did that gag. |
|
| |
I was going to post this as a new idea, but perhaps it would fit better here. |
|
| |
During the process of producing metal, rock is already heated up until at least some of it melts.
I saw a program on TV last night where the process for disposing of Nickel slag was to load it into large retorts then pour it down a slope. To prevent it building up, it's then scraped up with powerful bulldozers. These need constant servicing because of the hardness of the material. |
|
| |
After googling, I believe that a fraction of this is ground up for use in sand-blasting, and the remainder goes to landfill. |
|
| |
Therefore nickel slag would be an ideal thing to trial rock-casting with. It's already molten, and is largely a waste-product. The only disadvantage may be that it's probably in a fairly remote area, but the freight transport links are likely to be good. |
|
| |
I think that a sacrificial mould could be formed of densely packed sand. The rock might melt and absorb some of the surface sand, but I would expect this to be fairly predictable. |
|
| |
Possibly the slag from producing other metals would be available on a large scale as well. |
|
| |
Apparently 'without' used to mean outside - as in the hymn "There is a green hill far away without a city wall". So just rename a town nearby 'Sin' and you're good to go. |
|
| |
//it's hard to get these days// |
|
| |
Really? Most of the earth's crust is stone. |
|
| |