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In
Framboids, David Rickard analyzes and discusses the importance of these natural, small subspherical aggregates of pyrite.
Table des matières
- Dedication
- Synopsis
- Acknowledgments
- Chapter 1: Introduction
- Chapter 2: Framboid Sizes
- Chapter 3: Framboid Shapes
- Chapter 4: Microcrystal Morphology
- Chapter 5: Framboid Microarchitecture
- Chapter 6: The Crystallography of Pyrite Framboids
- Chapter 7: Organic Matter in Framboids
- Chapter 8: Framboid Mineralogy
- Chapter 9: Geochemistry of Framboids
- Chapter 10: Pyrite Framboid Formation Chemistry
- Chapter 11: Nucleation of Framboids
- Chapter 12: Framboid Microcrystal Growth
- Chapter 13: Framboid Self-Assembly and Self-Organization
- List of Symbols and Abbreviations
- List of Units
- Glossary
- References
- Index
A propos de l'auteur
David Rickard is Emeritus Professor of Geochemistry at Cardiff University and Adjunct Professor of Marine Geochemistry at the University of Delaware. He received his BSc, ARSM, DIC, and PhD from Imperial College London. Rickard has authored more than 300 publications, including four books and over 150 original research papers on sulfide chemistry, geochemistry, biogeochemistry, and ore geology. His most recent book is Pyrite (Oxford University Press, 2015). He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Royal Society of Biology, the Geochemical Society, and the Geological Society of London.
Résumé
Framboids may be the most astonishing and abundant natural features you've never heard of. These microscopic spherules of golden pyrite consist of thousands of even smaller microcrystals, often arranged in stunning geometric arrays. They are rarely more than twenty micrometers across, and often look like miniscule raspberries under the microscope.
The formation of a framboid is the result of self-assembly of pyrite micro- and nano-crystals under the influence of surface forces. They can be found all around us in rocks of all ages and present-day sediments, soils, and natural waters. Our planet makes billions every second and has been doing so for most of recorded geologic time. As a result, there are more framboids on our planet than there are sand grains on Earth or stars in the observable universe.
The microscopic size of framboids belies their importance to contemporary science. They help us better understand inorganic self-assembly and self-organization, and studying them illuminates Earth's evolutionary history.
In this book, David Rickard explains what framboids are, how they are formed, and what we can learn from them. The book's thirteen chapters trace everything from their basic attributes and mineralogy to their biogeochemistry and paleoenvironmental significance. Rickard expands on the most updated research and recent developments in geology, chemistry, biology, materials science, biogeochemistry, mineralogy, and crystallography, making this a must-have guide for researchers.
Texte suppl.
I found Framboids to be a fun and highly educational read. Ever since I first saw a pyrite framboid, I wondered how these entities could arrange themselves in such beautiful symmetries. In this book, David Rickard documents how other compounds generate framboids and that these materials are everywhere even though they cannot easily be seen. Rickard does a spectacular job in providing the history of their discovery, starting with optical microscopy through more advanced electron microscopy methods. For the scientist who wishes to understand the physical and chemical forces that align microcrystals into framboids, he provides an exquisite step-by-step dissertation regarding their formation, growth mechanisms, nucleation, self-assembly, and self-organization.
