Neither. It has no visible grain.
Actually, obsidian doesn't have grains at all. Technically obsidian is a glass, which means it has no internal structure. When geologists refer the the grain size of a rock, they mean how big the crystals that make it up are. Since obsidian has no crystals, it therefore has no grain size.
Obsidian is a naturally occurring glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock. It is produced when acidic lava,extruded from a volcano cools very rapidly, freezing without sufficient time for crystal growth.Obsidian is commonly found within the margins of rhyolitic lava flows known as obsidian flows, where cooling of the lava is rapid.Because of the lack of crystal structure, obsidian blade edges can reach almost molecular thinness, leading to its ancient use as stone age knives and arrowheads, and its modern use as surgical scalpel blades.Obsidian can be found as lumps of rock of any size up to and including an entire mountainside.Obsidian has several varieties. Obsidian can contain small bubbles of air that are aligned along layers created as the molten rock was flowing just before being cooled. These bubbles can produce interesting effects such as a golden sheen, known as Sheen Obsidian or a rainbow sheen called Rainbow Obsidian. Inclusions of small, white, radially clustered crystals of cristobalite in the black glass produce a blotchy or snowflake pattern producing Snowflake Obsidian. Small nuggets of obsidian that have been naturally rounded and smoothed by wind and water are called Apache Tears.Often confused with smoky quartz, obsidian has similar properties to quartz because of a similar chemistry. However, many properties dependant on a crystal structure are altered or absent in obsidian because it lacks any crystal structure of its own. The piezoelectric and optical properties in quartz are thus absent in obsidian. Smoky quartz usually has a splotchy or zoned distribution to its color while Obsidian's color is more uniformly distributed.
It doesn't. The grain size effects the texture. If a rock has a small grain size, it will have a smooth texture. If the grain size is large, such as pebbles, the texture will be rough. For example, siltstone is one of the smoothest rocks because it contains silt particles, which are .0004cm to .006cm. Conglomerate though contains various particles including cobbles and boulders, which are from 10cm to 100cm.
The size of the grains in a sedimentary rock can be determined by examining the texture of the rock. Coarser grains indicate a larger grain size, while finer grains indicate a smaller grain size. Other features that can provide clues to grain size include the sorting (uniformity of grain sizes) and rounding of the grains.
Obsidian cooled very quickly. It's a vulcanic glass, meaning that the crystals are so small, they had virtually no time to form an orderly crystalline texture, and are basically placed randomly. Smaller grain size is associated with faster cooling.
Actually, obsidian doesn't have grains at all. Technically obsidian is a glass, which means it has no internal structure. When geologists refer the the grain size of a rock, they mean how big the crystals that make it up are. Since obsidian has no crystals, it therefore has no grain size.
there is no visible grain size
Small to medium grain size.
It varies some metamorphic rocks are fine grained (eg slate) and others have very large crystals (eg an augen gneiss).
Meteors can vary in size, ranging from as small as a grain of sand to as large as a boulder. When a meteor enters the Earth's atmosphere, it heats up and creates the glowing streak of light we see, known as a meteor or shooting star.
clay
it is small depending on the colors
Rocks with a large grain size perhaps with angular grain shapes.
My 8 year old found a large piece of obsidian in dansville ny this weekend. We are amazed by its size and beauty
Rocks don't come in particular sizes. Shale is a type of rock - it can be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a mountain range
Obsidian is a naturally occurring glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock. It is produced when acidic lava,extruded from a volcano cools very rapidly, freezing without sufficient time for crystal growth.Obsidian is commonly found within the margins of rhyolitic lava flows known as obsidian flows, where cooling of the lava is rapid.Because of the lack of crystal structure, obsidian blade edges can reach almost molecular thinness, leading to its ancient use as stone age knives and arrowheads, and its modern use as surgical scalpel blades.Obsidian can be found as lumps of rock of any size up to and including an entire mountainside.Obsidian has several varieties. Obsidian can contain small bubbles of air that are aligned along layers created as the molten rock was flowing just before being cooled. These bubbles can produce interesting effects such as a golden sheen, known as Sheen Obsidian or a rainbow sheen called Rainbow Obsidian. Inclusions of small, white, radially clustered crystals of cristobalite in the black glass produce a blotchy or snowflake pattern producing Snowflake Obsidian. Small nuggets of obsidian that have been naturally rounded and smoothed by wind and water are called Apache Tears.Often confused with smoky quartz, obsidian has similar properties to quartz because of a similar chemistry. However, many properties dependant on a crystal structure are altered or absent in obsidian because it lacks any crystal structure of its own. The piezoelectric and optical properties in quartz are thus absent in obsidian. Smoky quartz usually has a splotchy or zoned distribution to its color while Obsidian's color is more uniformly distributed.
They are rocks with a small grain size.