Exfoliation

(geology) sheeting
(medicine) The separation of bone or other tissue in thin layers. A peeling and shedding of the horny layer of the skin.
(metallurgy) Peeling off or separation of metal at its surface in the form of thin, parallel scales or lamellae.
(petrology) The breaking off of thin concentric shells, sheets, scales, plates, and so on, from a rock mass; measuring less than a centimeter to several meters in thickness, the loosened rock is spalled, peeled, or stripped.
(science and technology) Flaking away or peeling off in scales.

(shedding) the physiologic loss of the primary dentition.

Also known as onion weathering, this is the sheeting of rocks and their disintegration, thought to be due to thermal expansion, at least on small structures. An exfoliation dome, such as the Sugar Loaf (Pão de Açúcar), Rio de Janeiro, is a large, single, dome-shaped body of massive rock revealed through sheeting, probably as a result of pressure release.

Peeling, swelling, or scaling of stone or mineral surfaces in thin layers; caused by chemical or physical weathering or by heat. Minerals such as vermiculite expand to many times their original size when heat-treated.

Exfoliation has several meanings:

• Exfoliation (botany) describes the loss of leaves (or, in some cases, pieces of bark) from a plant.
• Exfoliation (cosmetology), is a cosmetic technique aimed at removing dead skin cells from the face and body.
• Exfoliation (geology) is a weathering process.
• Exfoliation (material science) is the process responsible for breaking up particle aggregates.

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