Volume 32 of Reviews in Mineralogy introduces the basic concepts of melt physics and relaxation theory as applied to silicate melts, then to describe the current state of experimental and computer simulation techniques for exploring the detailed atomic structure and dynamic processes which occur at high temperature, and finally to consider the relationships between melt structure, thermodynamic properties and rheology within these liquids. These fundamental relations serve to bridge the extrapolation from often highly simplified melt compositions studied in the laboratory to the multicomponent systems found in nature. This volume focuses on the properties of simple model silicate systems, which are usually volatile-free. The behavior of natural magmas has been summarized in a previous Short Course volume (Nicholls and Russell, editors, 1990: Reviews in Mineralogy, Vol. 24), and the effect of volatiles on magmatic properties in yet another (Carroll and Holloway, editors, 1994: Vol. 30). The Mineralogical Society of America sponsored a short course for which this was the text at Stanford University December 9 and 10, 1995, preceding the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union and MSA in San Fransisco, with about 100 professionals and graduate students in attendance.

Characterization of the relationships between structure and properties of materials is based on the fundamental principle that the structure of the material be determined first, followed by assessments of which structural properties may govern their properties as a function of composition, pressure, temperature and other variables. Whereas this methodology has been successfully applied to further our understanding of crystalline materials, studies of silicate melt structure are often conducted on a somewhat different basis. Rather than from direct structural determination, structure models have been developed from assumed relationships between a specific melt property and its structure. As a result, a multitude of models has evolved - many of which are mutually exclusive. The overall scope of this book is to address properties and processes of magmatic systems from the vantage point of melt structure. To this end available data in chemically increasingly complex systems are reviewed and discussed with the ultimate goal being integration of the simple system data into a model that describes complex systems such as natural magmatic liquids. Thus the book evolves from the simplest possible system, SiO 2 , to complex systems such as natural magmatic liquids. From a petrologic point of view, sufficient data have been obtained so that a general framework of the structure of magmatic liquids is in place. This framework is based on the same principles as those of crystal chemistry, modulated by the absence of long range order in amorphous material, and systematic relationships between structure and properties can be discerned at least at atmospheric pressure.

Silicate Glasses and Melts, Second Edition describes the structure-property-composition relationships for silicate glasses and melts from a geological and industrial perspective. Updated sections include (i) characterization of silicate melt and COHN fluid structure (with and without dissolved silicate components) with pressure, temperature, and redox conditions and responses of structural variables to chemical composition, (ii) determination of solubility and solution mechanisms of COHN volatiles in silicate melts and minerals and of solubility and solution mechanisms of silicate components in COHN fluids, and (iii) effects of very high pressure on structure and properties of melts and glasses. This new book is an essential resource for researchers in a number of fields, including geology, geophysics, geoscience, volcanology, material science, glass science, petrology and mineralogy. Brings together multidisciplinary research scattered across the scientific literature into one reference, with a focus on silicate melts and their application to natural systems Emphasizes linking melt properties to melt structure Includes a discussion of the pros and cons of the use of glass as a proxy for melt structure and properties Written by highly regarded experts in the field who, among other honors, were the 2006 recipients of the prestigious G.W. Morey award of the American Ceramic Society

Volume 87 of Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry covers fundamental aspects of the nature of silicate melts and the implications for the systems in which they participate, both technological and natural. The contents of this volume may perhaps best be summarized as structure – properties – dynamics. The volume contains syntheses of short and medium range order, structure-property relationships, and computation-based simulations of melt structure. It continues with analyses of the properties (mechanical, diffusive, thermochemical, redox, nucleation, rheological) of melts. The dynamic behavior of melts in magmatic and volcanic systems, is then treated in the context of their behavior in magma mixing, strain localization, frictional melting, magmatic fragmentation, and hot sintering. Finally, the non-magmatic, extraterrestrial and prehistoric roles of melt and glass are presented in their respective contexts.

Silicate Glasses and Melts, Second Edition describes the structure-property-composition relationships for silicate glasses and melts from a geological and industrial perspective. Updated sections include (i) characterization of silicate melt and COHN fluid structure (with and without dissolved silicate components) with pressure, temperature, and redox conditions and responses of structural variables to chemical composition, (ii) determination of solubility and solution mechanisms of COHN volatiles in silicate melts and minerals and of solubility and solution mechanisms of silicate components in COHN fluids, and (iii) effects of very high pressure on structure and properties of melts and glasses. This new book is an essential resource for researchers in a number of fields, including geology, geophysics, geoscience, volcanology, material science, glass science, petrology and mineralogy.