Surveys the physical and chemical aspects of mineral behaviour from a modern and fundamental viewpoint, with emphasis on both theory and experiment.
1. Introduction; 2. Crystal Chemistry; 3. Experimental methods for studying structure; 4. Methods for studying thermodynamic properties; 5. Chemical bonding; 6. Mineral thermodynamics; 7. Solid solutions and order-disorder; 8. Melts, glasses, and amorphous materials; 9. The interface between mineral physics and materials science.
'! the book is remarkably easy to read and carries you along rather like a novel in places.' Martin Elsworth, The Open University Geological Society