Perhaps they’re so close to being perfectly flat that the molecules at the surface are sharing electrons across the interface. 
Until you put something between them like water… .
Not quite but even the flattest natural stones that are unpolished have enough roughness too them to interlock on a micro level.
Gauge blocks are generally made of steel, not stone.
It’s very possible advanced civilizations have come & gone, without leaving a trace of their existence. Possibly many millions of years ago; and if they existed & declined into oblivion, that would prove liberals were here millions of years ago.
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Steel didn’t exist in that era at least that we know of.
It’s also quite possible and plausible that humanity has advanced to great heights only to be wiped out by natural disasters (ala meteors, floods, volcanic activity etc) and the clock has been reset many times.
The more advanced we become as a society the less will remain to show it in the future because nothing we can make or build lasts forever and the more advanced we become the more we rely on things that can easily disintegrate to the point of being unrecognizable even a hundred thousand years in the future.
Conversation between two cowboys.
“It’s quite out here.”
“Yeah, it’s quiet. Too quiet”
The advanced civilizations fought directly on earth and in space. But now they are watching us and the developments on earth carefully.
Given the number of stars and their earth-like planets in this Milky Way Galaxy alone, it’s way too quiet now.
Of course there’s absolutely no verifiable fact that supports that fantasy but do roll on.
I don’t see that anyone has claimed it did. I was addressing the comment about two gauge blocks sticking together.
This one:
Pay attention.
Steel has the same properties. It is porous. No matter how much we polish it, on a micro level even the flattest steel surfaces have the same properties and thus can bind under pressure.
I believe steel was formulated in India; and supposedly, the best Samurai swords were made with Indian steel.
I think if you’ll look you’ll find the first forged steel developed around the Black Sea region and expanded out from there.
Prior to that there was a lot of iron working going on for six or eight hundred years.
Before that the closest they actually got to steel was in working meteor metal which is mostly iron and nickel but isn’t really steel. While it was certainly superior to copper, bronze, and brass strength wise it wasn’t consistent and frequently fractured.
There’s also at least some evidence that various cultures around the world developed primitive steel around the same time but until transportation modernized largely thanks to the Greeks and Romans knowledge and techniques spread very slowly.
These cellar dwellars have never done manual labour like beat on a rock until it is the shape that is desired.
It is just a lot of work.
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All one has to do to understand how it was done is to sit along a rocky river sometime watching the action then pick up a few rocks to see what water, agitation, grit, and friction can do to stone.
Iron and Steel industry in ancient India
The discovery of iron dates back to as early as 1200 BC. The first form of iron known to ancient man was wrought iron. The Iron Age in India is denoted as the Indus Valley Civilization. Telluric iron is the native form of iron. This was in metallic form on the earth surface and was similar in texture to the iron from meteors. It contained about 6-8% Nickel.
Formation of iron and steel industry:
Extraction of iron in India finds its roots way back in the 4th century BC which was continued even until 19th century AD. Still many places in Rajasthan stand as artifacts to this legacy of iron production. Many foreign kings have recorded incidents where they were gifted by their Indian counterparts with swords and ingots that were made of Indian iron and steel.
Applications: Ornament making:
Ancient Indians used Hematite iron which is an oxide of iron to make ornaments and ■■■■■■■■ In ancient days, iron was far more expensive than gold and therefore it was mainly used in making beaded ornaments.
Artillery and warfare weapons:
This iron cannot be forged under reduced temperatures. So it was produced at high temperatures and a spongy mass mixed with slag is formed as a result. This is subjected to hammering in order to remove the slag and then shaped into desired forms for various purposes. Iron was used to prepare arrowheads and swords for the warfare.
Buildings and monuments:
Iron and steel remarked the modernization of civilizations. An iron pillar weighing about 7 tonnes dating back to 400 AD is still found in the national capital Delhi marking the age-old traditions practicing the use of iron in various ways. Several other monuments are the iron beams at the Konark Sun Temple dating back to the early 9th century.
Export trade:
Ancient records show that Indian iron and steel was exported for many centuries to far countries like Greece and Rome. Indian iron had a great demand in many parts of the world that foreign monarchies gave a fortune to India for this metal. Iron and steel trade was a farming business in ancient India. Indian iron and steel were preferred in many countries and several world-famous bridges and monuments have been raised using Indian iron.
Steel trade:
The first form of steel that was used in India was called the Wootz steel. It was found plenty in the southern parts of India in Karnataka. It is called as Ukku in Kanada and was later called as wootz by the English people. It is an ancient crucible steel used to make weapons like swords and daggers. It has high carbon content and the tiny carbon crystals embedded in iron, gave it a curvy pattern when made into swords. This steel was produced in a large number of smelting furnaces. Small clay pots were used into which iron mixed with charcoal was put. At controlled temperatures, steel ingots were produced which was further processed to form swords. This wonderful art of making wootz steel vanished by the middle of 19th century when it was replaced by imported steel from England during the British rule in India.
The first forged steel was produced in the black sea region.
Iron was developed about six or seven hundred years earlier but we were discussing steel.
Iron work began as soon as they figured out how to get high enough temp’s to melt it and ceramics that could hold the molten Iron.
Let the Google wars begin!
7 tons. How did they come up with the necessary equipmnet to melt 7 tons of iron in the 4th century? An iron pillar weighing about 7 tonnes dating back to 400 AD is still found in the national capital Delhi marking the age-old traditions practicing the use of iron in various ways. Several other monuments are the iron beams at the Konark Sun Temple dating back to the early 9th century.