Synopses & Reviews
This reader-friendly reference is written in a casual, jargon-free style to present a modern introduction to mineralogy. It emphasizes real-world applications and the history and human side of mineralogy. The author approaches the subject by explaining the larger, understandable topics first, and then explaining why the “little things” are important for understanding the larger picture.
Elements and Minerals; Crystallization and Classification of Minerals; Mineral Properties: Hand Specimen Mineralogy; Optical Mineralogy; Igneous Rocks and Silicate Minerals; Sedimentary Minerals and Sedimentary Rocks; Metamorphic Minerals and Metamorphic Rocks; Ore Deposits and Economic Minerals; Crystal Morphology and Symmetry; Crystallography; Unit Cells, Points, Lines, and Planes; X-Ray Diffraction and Mineral Analysis; Atomic Structure; Descriptions of Minerals.
A comprehensive reference for anyone interested in learning more about mineralogy.
Synopsis
This student-friendly text is written in a casual, jargon-free style to present a modern introduction to mineralogy. It emphasizes real-world applications and the history and human side of mineralogy. The author approaches the subject by explaining the larger, understandable topics first, and then explaining why the “little things” are important for understanding the larger picture.
About the Author
Dexter Perkins received his B.S. from the University of Rochester in 1973, and an M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1979. After graduate school, his first faculty position was at the University of Chicago. He came to the University of North Dakota in 1981 where he is currently a Professor of Geology. During the past 25 years Perkins has had several 1-year appointments at European universities. Perkins is a past editor of American Mineralogist and the Journal of Geoscience Education (since 2000).
Perkins’s regular teaching duties include undergraduate and graduate mineralogy and petrology. He is also an active geology researcher. He has published almost 100 articles in professional journals and has written three books. Past research focused on high-temperature minerals and rocks; his current research concerns xenoliths from the Southwestern United States, and science education reform. So, he is both doing basic scientific research and contributing to educational research.
Table of Contents
Part 1
Chapter 1: Elements and Minerals
Chapter 2: Crystallization and Classification of Minerals
Chapter 3: Mineral Properties: Hand Specimen Mineralogy
Chapter 4: Optical Mineralogy
Chapter 5: Igneous Rocks and Silicate Minerals
Chapter 6: Sedimentary Minerals and Sedimentary Rocks
Chapter 7: Metamorphic Minerals and Metamorphic Rocks
Chapter 8: Ore Deposits and Economic Minerals
Part II: Symmetry, Crystallography, and Atomic Structure
Chapter 9: Crystal Morphology and Symmetry
Chapter 10: Crystallography
Chapter 11: Unit Cells, Points, Lines, and Planes
Chapter 12: X-Ray Diffraction and Mineral Analysis
Chapter 13: Atomic Structure
Part III: Mineral Descriptions
Chapter 14: Descriptions of Minerals