Obsidian
Obsidian
Obsidian Rock
Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock. It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. Obsidian is rich in silica (about 65 to 80 percent), low in water, and has a chemical composition similar to rhyolite.
Formation and Properties
Obsidian forms from quickly cooled lava, which is the parent material. Extrusive formation of obsidian may occur when felsic lava cools rapidly at the edges of a felsic lava flow or volcanic dome, or when lava cools during sudden contact with water or air. Intrusive formation of obsidian may occur when felsic lava cools along the edges of a dike.
Obsidian is hard, brittle, and amorphous; it therefore fractures with sharp edges. This property made it valuable in the past for manufacturing cutting and piercing tools, and it has been used experimentally as surgical scalpel blades.
Historical Uses
Throughout history, obsidian has been used to make weapons, implements, tools, ornaments, and mirrors. Due to its conchoidal fracture (smooth curved surfaces and sharp edges), the sharpest stone artifacts were fashioned from obsidian. Native Americans and many other peoples, including those of the ancient Aztec and Greek civilizations, used obsidian.
Notable Occurrences
Some of the best-known occurrences of obsidian are at Mount Hekla in Iceland, the Eolie Islands off the coast of Italy, and Obsidian Cliff in Yellowstone National Park, U.S.. Most obsidian is found in association with volcanic rocks and forms the upper portion of rhyolitic lava flows, though it can also occur as thin edges of dikes and sills.
Obsidian Software
Obsidian is a personal knowledge base and note-taking software application that operates on Markdown files. It allows users to make internal links for notes and then to visualize the connections as a graph. It is designed to help users organize and structure their thoughts and knowledge in a flexible, non-linear way.
Development and Features
Obsidian was founded by Shida Li and Erica Xu while quarantining during the COVID-19 pandemic. Li and Xu, who had met while studying at the University of Waterloo, had already collaborated on several development projects. Obsidian was initially released on 30 March 2020. Version 1.0.0 was released in October 2022, and Version 1.1, which added the Canvas core plugin, was released in December 2022. In February 2023, Steph Ango joined Obsidian as CEO.
Obsidian is built on Electron. It is a cross-platform application that runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS, as well as mobile operating systems such as Android and iOS. There is no web-based version of the software. Obsidian on all platforms can be customized by adding plugins and themes, which enable users to extend the software's functionality with additional features or integration with other tools.
Community and Customization
Obsidian differentiates between core plugins, which are released and maintained by the Obsidian team, and community plugins, which are open-sourced through GitHub and are contributed by users. The software's flexibility and extensive customization options have made it popular among users who need a robust and adaptable note-taking solution.
Obsidian Entertainment
Obsidian Entertainment is an American video game developer founded by Feargus Urquhart, Chris Avellone, Chris Parker, Darren Monahan, and Chris Jones on June 12, 2003. Prior to the establishment of Obsidian, they worked for Interplay Entertainment's subsidiary Black Isle Studios. At Black Isle, they created several role-playing games including Icewind Dale, Planescape: Torment, and Fallout 2, and collaborated with BioWare on Neverwinter Nights, Baldur's Gate, and Baldur's Gate II.
Notable Projects
Early projects included Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords and Neverwinter Nights 2, both sequels to BioWare-developed games. The team then developed their first original game, Alpha Protocol, in 2010. Other notable works from Obsidian include Fallout: New Vegas, Dungeon Siege III, and South Park: The Stick of Truth, all of which are also licensed properties.
Crowdfunding and Acquisition
As a result, Obsidian decided to crowdfund their next game, Pillars of Eternity, a role-playing game played from an isometric perspective, which ultimately became a success and saved the studio from closure. The team's focus then changed from developing licensed titles to creating original games based on the studio's own intellectual property, including a sequel to Pillars of Eternity.
In November 2018, Obsidian Entertainment was acquired by Microsoft and became part of Xbox Game Studios. Their latest releases are the survival game Grounded and adventure game Pentiment. The studio is currently developing Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2.