Earth Materials

Key concepts in mineralogy and petrology are explained alongside beautiful full-color illustrations, in this concisely written textbook.

Minerals and rocks form the foundation of geologic studies. This new textbook has been written to address the needs of students at the increasing number of universities that have compressed separate mineralogy and petrology courses into a one- or two-semester Earth materials course. Key features of this book include: equal coverage of mineralogy, sedimentary petrology, igneous petrology and metamorphic petrology; copious field examples and regional relationships with graphics that illustrate the concepts discussed; numerous case studies to show the uses of earth materials as resources and their fundamental role in our lives and the global economy, and their relation to natural and human-induced hazards; the integration of earth materials into a cohesive process-based earth systems framework; two color thoughout with 48 pages of four color. Readership: students taking an earth materials, or combined mineralogy and petrology course in an earth science degree program. It will also be useful for environmental scientists, engineering geologists, and physical geographers who need to learn about minerals, rocks, soil and water in a comprehensive framework. A companion website for this book is available at: www.wiley.com/go/hefferan/earthmaterials.

There is a large and growing need for a textbook that can form the basis for integrated classes that look at minerals, rocks, and other Earth materials. Despite the need, no high-quality book is available for such a course. Earth Materials is a wide-ranging undergraduate textbook that covers all the most important kinds of (inorganic) Earth materials. Besides traditional chapters on minerals and rocks, this book features chapters on sediments and stratigraphy, weathering and soils, water and the hydrosphere, and mineral and energy deposits. Introductions to soil mechanics and rock mechanics are also included. This book steers away from the model of traditional encyclopedic science textbooks, but rather exposes students to the key and most exciting ideas and information, with an emphasis on thinking about Earth as a system. The book is written in such a manner as to support inquiry, discovery and other forms of active learning. All chapters start with a short topical story or vignette, and the plentiful photographs and other graphics are integrated completely with the text. Earth Materials will be interesting and useful for a wide range of learners, including geoscience students, students taking mineralogy and petrology courses, engineers, and anyone interested in learning more about the Earth as a system.

Recent studies indicate that China accounts for about 96 percent of the world’s supply of rare earth materials (REMs). With REMs becoming increasingly important for a growing number of high-tech applications, appropriate action must be taken to mitigate the effects of a shortage of critical REMs in defense systems and components. Bringing together information previously available only from disparate journal articles and databases, Rare Earth Materials: Properties and Applications describes the unique characteristics and applications of 17 REMs. It defines their chemical, electrical, thermal, and optical characteristics. Maintaining a focus on physical and chemical properties, it addresses the history and critical issues pertaining to mining and processing of REMs. In this book, Dr. A.R. Jha continues his distinguished track record of distilling complex theoretical physical concepts into an understandable technical framework that can be extended to practical applications across commercial and industrial frameworks. He summarizes the chemical, optical, electrical, thermal, magnetic, and spectroscopic properties of REMs best suited for next-generation commercial and military systems or equipment. Coverage includes extraction, recycling, refinement, visual inspection, identification of spectroscopic parameters, quality control, element separation based on specific application, pricing control, and environmental / geo-political considerations. Potential applications are identified with an emphasis on scientific instruments, nuclear resonance imaging equipment, MRI systems, magnetic couplers for uranium enrichment equipment, battery-electrodes, electric motors, electric generators, underwater sensors, and commercial and military sensors. The book describes unique applications of rare earth magnets in all-electric and hybrid electric cars and microwave components. It also considers the use of rare earth magnets in commercial and military systems where weight and size are the critical design requirements. Suitable for both students and design engineers involved in the development of high-technology components or systems, the book concludes by summarizing future applications in electro-optic systems and components, including infrared lasers, diode-pumped solid-state lasers operating at room temperatures, and other sophisticated military and commercial test equipment

This graduate textbook presents a comprehensive, unified treatment of the materials science of deformation as applied to solid Earth geophysics and geology. The deformation of Earth materials is presented in a systematic way covering elastic, anelastic and viscous deformation. Advanced discussions on relevant debates are also included to bring readers a full picture of science in this interdisciplinary area. This textbook is ideal for graduate courses on the rheology and dynamics of solid Earth, and includes review questions with solutions so readers can monitor their understanding of the material presented. It is also a much-needed reference for geoscientists in many fields including geology, geophysics, geochemistry, materials science, mineralogy and ceramics.

With an approach that stresses the fundamental solid state behaviour of minerals, this 1995 text surveys the physics and chemistry of earth materials.

There is a large and growing need for a textbook that can form the basis for integrated classes that look at minerals, rocks, and other Earth materials. Despite the need, no high-quality book is available for such a course. Earth Materials is a wide-ranging undergraduate textbook that covers all the most important kinds of (inorganic) Earth materials. Besides traditional chapters on minerals and rocks, this book features chapters on sediments and stratigraphy, weathering and soils, water and the hydrosphere, and mineral and energy deposits. Introductions to soil mechanics and rock mechanics are also included. This book steers away from the model of traditional encyclopedic science textbooks, but rather exposes students to the key and most exciting ideas and information, with an emphasis on thinking about Earth as a system. The book is written in such a manner as to support inquiry, discovery and other forms of active learning. All chapters start with a short topical story or vignette, and the plentiful photographs and other graphics are integrated completely with the text. Earth Materials will be interesting and useful for a wide range of learners, including geoscience students, students taking mineralogy and petrology courses, engineers, and anyone interested in learning more about the Earth as a system.

Earth Materials Earth materials encompass the minerals, rocks, soil and water that constitute our planet and the physical, chemical and biological processes that produce them. Since the expansion of computer technology in the last two decades of the twentieth century, many universities have compressed or eliminated individual course offerings such as mineralogy, optical mineralogy, igneous petrology, sedimentology and metamorphic petrology and replaced them with Earth materials courses. Earth materials courses have become an essential curricular component in the fields of geology, geoscience, Earth science, and many related areas of study. This textbook is designed to address the needs of a one- or two-semester Earth materials course, as well as individuals who want or need an expanded background in minerals, rocks, soils and water resources. Earth Materials, Second Edition, provides: Comprehensive descriptive analysis of Earth materials Color graphics and insightful text in a logical integrated format Field examples and regional relationships with graphics that illustrate concepts discussed Examples of how concepts discussed can be used to address real world issues Contemporary references from current scientific journals related to developments in Earth materials research Summative discussions of how Earth materials are interrelated with other science and non-science fields of study Additional resources, including detailed descriptions of major rock-forming minerals and keys for identifying minerals using macroscopic and/or optical methods, are available online at www.wiley.com/go/hefferan/earthmaterials Earth Materials, Second Edition, is an innovative, visually appealing, informative and readable textbook that addresses the full spectrum of Earth materials.