An Aesthetic Stone Characterization

In geoscience, when stones are analysed, one speaks of rock characterization. In her diploma work, Pia Matthes deals with the characteristics of stones and two objects were developed: Thermonite and the Petroscope.
Thermonite are rocks that already have natural ergonomic shapes, so you want to touch them or sit on them. The rocks were collected by Matthes in Albtal (Northern Black Forest) and electricity passed through them at the University of Design in Karlsruhe to create Thermonite. When connected to a socket, they heat up thermally and give off a pleasant warmth. Thermonite is available in different rock types, sizes and heat outputs (watts).
The Petroscope gives an insight into petrology (from the Greek πέτρα, pétra, stone) and shows the different rock constructions and what color arrays can result from such a dense material. The Petroscope projects an enlargement of the “thin section” on the wall. A thin section is a section of rock that has a thickness of twenty to thirty μm. It is so thin that the otherwise massive stone becomes transparent. The optics and light source of the petroscope are connected by magnets and can be moved on the specimen in order to be able to project different sections. Optionally, polarizing filters can be used which break the light in the different minerals of the rock.