While researching crustal movement, I learned that granite is a rock that only exists on Earth. Apparently, granite cannot be formed without water, so it only exists on Earth, where water is abundant. When molten magma cools underground, it reaches its freezing point and crystallizes into basalt, and if there is water, the freezing point drops and it becomes granite. The type of rock is determined by the temperature at which these crystals crystallize.
https://talk.yumenavi.info/archives/2214
Granite slowly cools and solidifies deep underground over hundreds of thousands to millions of years, so about 80% of granite in Japan is said to be 90 to 70 million years old. That’s a long life. You can determine the age of granite by examining the half-life of zircon present in granite.
https://www.goldwin.co.jp/playearthkids/feature/nakajima_stone/
This granite is the rock that forms the bedrock, and most of the earth’s crust is made up of granite. Since granite exists because of water, it can also be said that the crust exists because of the ocean. The bedrock on the ocean floor is basalt, and the bedrock on land is granite, so it can also be said that there is land because of the ocean, rather than there being land because of the ocean. It’s interesting, isn’t it?
https://cucanshozai.com/2022/08/water-continent-granite.html
As they form the earth’s crust, there are huge granite rocks, and Yakushima, which has an area of about 500 km², is made up of a single granite rock. There are also many other huge rock bodies on Earth called batholiths, which are over 100 km in diameter.
https://gendai.media/articles/-/113550?page=2
This granite is composed of quartz, feldspar, and biotite, and quartz (crystal) is very hard and durable. On the other hand, feldspar and biotite become clay minerals when they are broken down or decomposed, and water enters them, forming tiny water channels called clay veins in the granite. It seems that a large number of microorganisms live between the layers of clay minerals that fill the gaps.
The quartz contained in granite is a piezoelectric material, which generates electricity when pressure is applied. In addition to quartz, other piezoelectric materials include dopamine, bone, and wood. When pressure or impact is applied to granite due to crustal movements, it can generate strong electromagnetic waves. It is strange that electricity can be generated from granite.
https://www.es.osaka-u.ac.jp/ja/latest-research/2017/12/post_1.html
Granite is said to be distributed all over the world, and is widely used as a building material. I imagine it was used in many ancient ruins. I think it was also used in the sarcophagi and obelisks inside the pyramids, Machu Picchu, and ancient tombs in Japan. It may mean that granite is strong, so its shape has remained until the present day. I learned for the first time that all curling stones are made of granite.
https://www.olympics.com/ja/news/the-remarkable-properties-and-origins-of-the-olympic-curling-stone
I learned that granite only exists on Earth, so I did some research and discovered that granite is the strong crust that continues to support our feet. Granite is amazing. The Earth is amazing.
