Pumice

Pumice is a volcanic rock made of rough grained vesicular volcanic glass. Vesciular pieces are filled with a great number of bubbles, and in pumices case, the bubbles trap so much air that the rock can float on water.

Showing the single result

Information about Pumice

Pumice is a lightweight, light coloured, extremely porous form of volcanic rock which forms during volcanic eruptions.

Pumice is the end result that occurs when a frothy (bubble filled) magma solidifies; a rock filled with bubbles, which cooled so quickly the atoms were not able to form crystalline structures.

Pumice is so light weight and contains so much gas by weight that it can actually float on water before it eventually gets waterlogged enough to sink.

 

It is primarily used for the production of lightweight concretes and cements, as well as in landscaping and gardening. It can be used as a drainage rock and is quite popular for use in hydroponic gardens.

People use cut and shaped pieces of pumice for skin exfoliants, and it is sometimes used to ‘stone wash’ denim, or for fine polishing of harder items.

Pumice has been used in medicines and in personal care, too – Roman toothpaste recipes often used powdered pumice and some modern toothpastes and soaps still use it!

 

Hazards and Warnings

Mineral collectors should wash their hands after handling specimens, to avoid any exposure to potential toxins.

Almost all rocks, minerals (and, frankly, almost all other substances on earth) can produce toxic dust when cutting, which can cause serious respiratory conditions including silicosis.

When cutting or polishing rocks, minerals, shells, etc, all work should be done wet to minimise the dust, and a suitable respirator or extraction system should be used.

 

Translations

Arabic:

Hindi:

  • प्यूमिस

Portuguese:

  • Pedra-pomes

Bengali:

  • পিউমিস

Indonesian:

  • Batu apung

Punjabi:

English:

Italian:

  • Pomice

Russian:

  • Пемза

French:

  • ponce

Japanese:

  • 軽石

Spanish:

  • Piedra pómez

German:

  • bimsstein

Korean:

Thai:

  • หินพัมมิซ

Gujurati:

  • प्यूमिस

Mandarin Chinese:

  • 浮石

Urdu:

Further Reading / External Links