Volvisteis

Volvisteis is a fictional mineral designation used in speculative geology and science fiction to describe a glassy, vesicular volcanic material with unusual properties. It is not recognized by the International Mineralogical Association and has no confirmed real-world occurrences.

Description: Volvisteis is described as having a vitreous luster and conchoidal fracture. Color ranges from dark gray to iridescent blue or green in transmitted light. It is said to consist mainly of silica-rich glass with traces of alkali metals and rare metal inclusions. The structure is often depicted as containing microlites or microcrystalline networks that give faint crystalline reflections under polarized light.

Formation: In fiction, volvisteis forms when highly viscous rhyolitic magma rapidly quenches, creating a glassy matrix with vesicles that trap volcanic gases. Some depictions attribute formation to explosive fragmentation and rapid cooling in pyroclastic flows. Real-world analogs include obsidian and tektites, but volvisteis is distinct in its imagined microstructure and potential trace-element signatures.

Usage: The term appears in science-fiction novels and speculative geology essays as a hypothetical resource, sometimes discussed in the context of volcanic glass variability or glass crystallization under high pressure. It has no defined mineral species, and occurrences are fictional.

Etymology: Volvisteis is a coined term designed to evoke volcanic origin and vitreous texture; the name combines elements suggestive of volcanic processes and glassy materials.

See also: obsidian, tektite, volcanic glass.