Netherrack

Netherstone is a stone that is found only in the The Nether.

Consistency: Netherstone is delicate. It can be mined with one hit, even using a stone pick. It can also be broken relatively easily by hand; however, using your hand or a tool other than a pick will drop no material. Netherstone has an extremely low resistance to TNT and can be destroyed by the Ghast's fireballs.

Appearance: The dark red of the stone, along with its abundance in The Nether, give it a very chilling ambiance and make the region seem darker than it is. Netherstone placed or generated in The Nether gives off a small amount of light estimated to be the same as the nightime lumination from the moonlight. Thus, it is never completely dark in The Nether, even on blocks far away from light sources.

Uses: As of Alpha version 1.2.0_02, there are no recipes using Netherstone. Its only use is the ability to burn forever, once lit on fire using Flint and Steel or a Ghast's fireball. This makes Netherstone a good source of light and allows the creation of Netherstone traps (below). If Netherstone is set on fire, the fire will not spread to flammable blocks placed above the flame. It can also be a useful way of attacking Zombie Pigmen without enraging them.

Netherstone Traps
It is possible to place several single tiles of Netherstone across one's outside home area and light them on fire using flint and steel. Animals will carelessly jump on top of the blocks, catching on fire and more often than not they will jump off of the burning Netherstone and drop loot in a safe location. After a while, lots of animals will kill themselves on the traps and their loot can be collected for free. Be sure not to place them near trees or wood.

Here is another trap that can be made with Netherstone and Cactus. Dig a line around a chosen area and every other one place sand for the Cactus to be grown on, then Netherstone to light on fire. [s][h][s][h][s] like so. Its best if you dig down one block so when you light the Netherstone on fire the flame is level with the ground. This trap is good for placing in an open area as a per-perimeter for stopping Mobs. This works excellent against spider mobs. Spiders can jump two blocks high and can jump over fire. The Cactus will stop them from being able to get through.

Trivia

 * Netherstone used to be called by many other names, which include Hellstone and Red Mossy Cobblestone.
 * The redness on Netherstone is moss, not blood.
 * Netherstone was most likely the second of the new blocks seen by the public. The first was Slow Sand.