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About this book
This work is based on the observation that further major advances in geochemistry, particularly in understanding the rules that govern the ways in which elements come together to form minerals and rocks, will require the application of the theories of quantum mechanics. The book therefore outlines this theoretical background and discusses the models used to describe bonding in geochemical systems. It is the first book to describe and critically review the application of quantum mechanical theories to minerals and geochemical systems. The book consolidates valuable findings from chemistry and materials science as well as mineralogy and geochemistry, and the presentation has relevance to professionals in a wide range of disciplines. Experimental techniques are surveyed, but the emphasis is on applying theoretical tools to various groups of minerals: the oxides, silicates, carbonates, borates, and sulfides. Other topics dealt with in depth include structure, stereochemistry, bond strengths and stabilities of minerals, various physical properties, and the overall geochemical distribution of the elements.
Contents
Introduction; 1. Experimental methods; 2. Theoretical methods; 3. Application of quantum mechanical methods to simple inorganic "molecules" of relevance to mineralogy and to oxide materials; 4. Applications to silicate, carbonate, and borate minerals and related species; 5. Application of bonding models to sulfide minerals; 6. Applications in mineral physics and chemistry; 7. Applications to geochemical problems; 8. The future; Appendix A: Symbols, units, conversion factors, and constants; Appendix B: Experimental methods for obtaining information on structure and bonding; Appendix C: Quantum mechanical (and related) calculational methods and terminology; References; Index
Customer Reviews
By: JA Tossell and DJ Vaughan
416 pages, 210 line drawings
"The book is very instructive with a large number of tables and figures to illustrate the various topics. The appendices are very useful as is a very comprehensive reference list. Theoretical Geochemistry illustrates well what can and cannot be accomplished through computational methods." --Geochemica et Cosmochemica Acta
"The first to attempt a broad survey of the 'quantum earth.' . . . the authors did a rather thorough job of reporting: over 1100 references are included in the bibliography. The presentation is detailed and relies almost entirely on examples from published papers. . . . very useful. . . . invaluable as a guide to the literature for graduate seminar courses. Those of us who are interested in the earth owe the authors a debt of gratitude for the great effort it took to review so much of the present literature. . . . well produced; it has few typos, the text is easy to read and the binding seems solid." --Pure and Applied Geophysics
"This text by Tossell and Va