A flint nodule from the Onondaga limestone layer, Buffalo, New York. (3.8 cm wide)

Pebble beach made up of flint nodules eroded out of the nearby chalk cliffs, Cape Arkona, Rügen

Detail of flint used in a building in Wiltshire, England.

Flint (or flintstone) is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline silicate form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chalcedony and broadly part of the mineral group known as silicas. Flint is usually dark-grey, blue, black, or deep brown in colour, and often has a glassy appearance. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (895x603, 79 KB) A flint nodule - from the Onondaga limestone layer, Buffalo, NY, USA. File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Flint Talk:Ohio Linear Pottery culture User... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (895x603, 79 KB) A flint nodule - from the Onondaga limestone layer, Buffalo, NY, USA. File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Flint Talk:Ohio Linear Pottery culture User... The Onondaga Formation is a group of hard limestones and dolostones of Devonian age that form an important geographic feature in the area of outcrop. ... Nickname: Location of Buffalo in New York State County Government  - Mayor Byron Brown (D) Area  - City 52. ... Pebble beach of flint nodules, Rügen, Germany in 2004 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Pebble beach of flint nodules, Rügen, Germany in 2004 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Needles, situated on the Isle Of Wight, are part of the extensive Southern England Chalk Formation. ... View on Cape Arkona Cape Arkona is a cape on the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. ... Map of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania highlighting the district Rügen Rügen (Polish: Rugia) is an island located off the coast of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the Baltic Sea. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2560 × 1920 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2560 × 1920 pixel, file size: 1. ... Flint can refer to: // People Eric Flint, American science fiction and fantasy author and editor Katja Flint, German actress Keith Flint, member of the band The Prodigy Larry Flynt, American magazine publisher (commonly misspelled Flint) Fictional characters Mr. ... Two types of sedimentary rock: limey shale overlaid by limestone. ... A cryptocrystal is a rock whose texture is so finely crystalline—that is, made up of such minute crystals—that its crystalline nature is only vaguely revealed even in a thin section by transmitted polarized light. ... In chemistry, a silicate is a compound containing an anion in which one or more central silicon atoms are surrounded by electronegative ligands. ... A mineral is a naturally occurring substance formed through geological processes that has a characteristic chemical composition, a highly ordered atomic structure and specific physical properties. ... For other uses, see Quartz (disambiguation). ... Chalcedony knife, AD 1000-1200 Bloodstone redirects here. ... A mineral is a naturally occurring substance formed through geological processes that has a characteristic chemical composition, a highly ordered atomic structure and specific physical properties. ... The chemical compound silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is the oxide of silicon, chemical formula SiO2. ... A nodule in petrology or mineralogy is an irregular rounded to spherical concretion. ... The Needles, situated on the Isle Of Wight, are part of the extensive Southern England Chalk Formation. ... For other uses, see Limestone (disambiguation). ...

The exact mode of formation of flint is not yet clear or agreed but it is thought that it occurs as a result of chemical changes in compressed sedimentary rock formations, during the process of diagenesis. One hypothesis is that a gelatinous material fills cavities in the sediment, such as holes bored by crustaceans or molluscs and that this becomes silicified. This theory certainly explains the complex shapes of flint nodules that are found. In geology and oceanography, diagenesis is any chemical, physical, or biological change undergone by a sediment after its initial deposition and during and after its lithification, exclusive of surface alteration (weathering) and metamorphism. ... Look up Hypothesis in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Classes Remipedia Cephalocarida Branchiopoda Ostracoda Maxillopoda Malacostraca The crustaceans (Crustacea) are a large group of arthropods (55,000 species), usually treated as a subphylum. ... Classes Caudofoveata Aplacophora Polyplacophora - Chitons Monoplacophora Bivalvia - Bivalves Scaphopoda - Tusk shells Gastropoda - Snails and Slugs Cephalopoda - Squids, Octopuses, etc. ...

Uses

In Europe, some of the best toolmaking flint has come from Belgium (Obourg, flint mines of Spiennes), the coastal chalks of the English Channel, the Paris Basin, Thy in Jutland (flint mine at Hov), the Sennonian deposits of Rügen, Grimes Graves in England and the Jurassic deposits of the Kraków-area in Poland. Flint mining is attested since the Palaeolithic, but became more common since the Neolithic (Michelsberg culture, Funnelbeaker culture). For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... Flint tools were made by stone age peoples worldwide. ... Spiennes is a village in the municipality of Mons, Belgium. ... Satellite view of the English Channel The English Channel (French: , the sleeve) is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates the island of Great Britain from northern France and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. ... The Paris Basin is one of the major geological regions of France having developed since the Triassic on a basement formed by the Variscan orogeny. ... Thy (IPA: , locally ) is a traditional district in northwestern Jutland, Denmark. ... Jutland Peninsula Jutland (Danish: Jylland; German: Jütland; Frisian Jutlân; Low German Jötlann) is the western, continental part of Denmark as well as one of the three historical Lands of Denmark, dividing the North Sea from the Kattegat and the Baltic Sea. ... Map of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania highlighting the district Rügen Rügen (Polish: Rugia) is an island located off the coast of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the Baltic Sea. ... View of a seam of Flint in the Grimes Graves excavation. ... The Jurassic Period is a major unit of the geologic timescale that extends from about 199. ... For other uses, see Krakow (disambiguation). ... The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic – lit. ... An array of Neolithic artifacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools. ... The Funnelbeaker culture is the archeological designation for a late Neolithic culture in what is now northern Germany, the Netherlands, southern Scandinavia and Poland. ...

Flint was one of the most commonly used materials for the manufacture of stone tools during the Stone Age, as it splits into thin, sharp splinters called flakes or blades (depending in the shape) when struck by another hard object (such as a hammerstone made of another material). This process is referred to as knapping. For other uses, see Rock (disambiguation). ... Stone Age fishing hook. ... In archaeology, a hammerstone is a hard cobble used to strike lithic flakes off a lump of tool stone during the process of lithic reduction. ... A flintknapper is an individual who shapes flint or other stone through the process of knapping or lithic reduction, to manufacture stone tools, strikers for flintlock firearms, or to produce flat-faced stones for building or facing walls. ...

When struck against steel, flint will produce sparks, which when directed onto tinder can be used to start a fire. This occurs when the hard flint knocks off a particle of the steel, which is heated by the impact, and then burns with oxygen from the atmosphere. This method is popular in woodcraft and among campers who want to have an 'authentic' experience.^{[citation needed]} Striking a lump of flint against a piece of steel to make fire is not particularly easy or convenient (although it is much easier than other primitive fire-making methods such as using a bow and drill). Because of this, a similar technology has been miniaturized and integrated into lighters, which are easy to use without skill or practice. The ferrocerium used in these lighters, while sometimes called "flint", works differently from true flint-and-steel, with the steel scraping off slivers of burning ferrocerium, the reverse of traditional flint-and-steel. Starting a fire with flint, however, is a staple of scouting lore. For other uses, see Steel (disambiguation). ... The word sparks can refer to a number of things: Sparks (band) a rock band led by Ron Mael and his brother Russell Mael Sparks (Coldplay song), a song by British band Coldplay from their debut album Parachutes. ... Tinder is easily flammable material used to ignite fires by rudimentary methods. ... For other uses, see Fire (disambiguation). ... A recreational/educational philosophy devised by Ernest Thompson Seton in the early years of the 20th Century, for young people based on camping, outdoor skills and crafts. ... Car camping is camping in a tent, but nearby the car for easier access and for supply storage. ... Many different techniques exist to make fire. ... Ferrocerium is the flint in lighters, and its ability to give a large number of sparks when scraped against a rough surface (pyrophoricity) is used in many other applications, such as clockwork toys and strikers for welding torches. ... A metal naphtha lighter A lighter is a device used to create fire with the intent to ignite another substance such as a cigarette, smoking pipe, or charcoal in a grill. ... Ferrocerium is the flint in lighters, and its ability to give a large number of sparks when scraped against a rough surface (pyrophoricity) is used in many other applications, such as clockwork toys and strikers for welding torches. ... This article is about the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts/Girl Guides organizations. ...

A later major use was to create the spark that would ignite the powder that would fire a ball or bullet from a flintlock firearm. While the military use of a flintlock declined after the British military generally applied the percussion cap on their muskets in 1842, it is still popular to use the flintlock as a hunting rifle during special muzzleloader seasons or general rifle seasons in several states in the US. Flintlock of an 18th Century hunting rifle, with piece of flint missing. ... The armed forces of the United Kingdom are known as the British Armed Forces or Her Majestys Armed Forces, officially the Armed Forces of the Crown. ... The percussion cap or primer was the crucial invention that enabled firearms to fire in any weather. ... A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth-bore long gun. ... 1842 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... A US soldier drops a shell into the muzzle of an M224 60-mm mortar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... United States may refer to: Places: United States of America SS United States, the fastest ocean liner ever built. ...

Flint was used extensively from the 13th century until the present day as a material for building stone walls, especially in parts of England. In chalky areas of England, mostly coastal, but also including inland areas such as the North and South Downs, flint has also been used as a building and walling material, predating the common use of bricks but laid in a similar manner, using lime mortar. For instance, flint was used in the construction of many churches and other buildings in East Anglia, Sussex and Surrey. (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Norfolk and Suffolk, the core area of East Anglia. ... Sussex is a historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. ... This article is about the English county. ...

Flint pebbles are used as the media in ball mills to grind glazes and other raw materials for the ceramics industry. The pebbles are hand-selected for colour, with those showing a reddish tint, indicating the presence of iron, being discarded. The remaining blue-grey stones have a low content of chromophoric oxides and so should impart lesser amounts of colouring contaminants. For other uses, see Iron (disambiguation). ... A chromophore is part (or moiety) of a molecule responsible for its color. ...

In England flint pebbles were traditionally an important raw material for clay based ceramic bodies; after high temperature treatment, to remove organic impurites and induce certain physical reactions, calcined flint performed a similar role to quartz sand used in other countries, i.e. after milling to fine particle size was the filler component in pottery bodies. Because of this historical use American potters now, erroneously, refer to all siliceous fillers as flint. Fixed Partial Denture, or Bridge The word ceramic is derived from the Greek word κεραμικός (keramikos). ... Calcination (also referred to as Calcining) is thermal treatment process applied to ores and other solid materials in order to bring about a thermal decomposition, phase transition, or removal of a volatile fraction. ... Unfired green ware pottery on a traditional drying rack at Conner Prairie living history museum. ...

Flint flakes are a nuisance to cyclists in areas where flint is common (e.g. chalk downland). These flakes can efficiently rip large gashes in tire sidewalls as well as causing more conventional punctures by penetrating the central tread. A cyclist is a person who engages in cycling whether as a sport or rides a bicycle for recreation or transportation. ... This article is about pneumatic tires. ...

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Flintstone

• Chalcedony
• Chert
• Eolith
• Obsidian
• List of minerals
• Ferrocerium, an alloy also referred to as "flint"
• Grimes Graves, a prehistoric flint mine in Norfolk, England

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Chalcedony knife, AD 1000-1200 Bloodstone redirects here. ... Chert Chert (IPA: ) is a fine-grained silica-rich cryptocrystalline sedimentary rock that may contain small fossils. ... An eolith (from Greek eos, dawn, and lithos, stone) is a chipped flint nodule. ... This article is about a type of volcanic glass. ... Gem animals. ... Ferrocerium is the flint in lighters, and its ability to give a large number of sparks when scraped against a rough surface (pyrophoricity) is used in many other applications, such as clockwork toys and strikers for welding torches. ... View of a seam of Flint in the Grimes Graves excavation. ... Norfolk (IPA: //) is a low-lying county in East Anglia in the east of southern England. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...

External links

• Flint vs Chert Authentic Artefacts Collectors Assn.
• Flintsource.net European Artefacts - detailed site
• Flint and steel clarifications
• Flint mine in South Moravia 9,400 yrs old