Mineralogy and Geology: the role of Crystallography since the discovery of X-Ray diffraction in 1912.
- María Mercedes Reventós 2
- Jordi Rius 1
- José María Amigó 2
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1
Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Barcelona
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Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Barcelona
Cerdanyola del Vallès, España
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2
Universitat de València
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ISSN: 0214-2708
Année de publication: 2012
Volumen: 25
Número: 3-4
Pages: 133-144
Type: Article
D'autres publications dans: Revista de la Sociedad Geológica de España
Résumé
Minerals are geological resources of major economic importance. Most of them are crystalline which explains the important role played by crystallography in their study. Minerals may occur either massive or forming characteristic geometric forms known as crystals. In 1912, Max von Laue discovered the diffraction of X-rays by crystals and almost immediately diffraction methods were applied to the structural characterization of minerals. One early success of X-ray crystallography was the structural classification of silicate minerals. However, application of X-ray diffraction was not limited to minerals. It was soon used for the structural characterization of molecular crystals as well and, later on, even of proteins. Nowadays, crystallography is commonly employed in many branches of experimental sciences such as physics, chemistry, biochemistry, and geology among others.