The Layer Silicates

The principal concern of this book is the use of vibrational spectroscopy as a tool in identifying mineral species and in deriving information concerning the structure, composition and reactions of minerals and mineral products. This does not mean that the approach is purely empirical; some theoretical understanding of the vibrational spectra of solids is essential to an assessment of the significance of the variations in the spectra that can be found within what is nominally a single mineral species, but which usually includes a range of compositions and defect structures. Theory alone, however, can give only limited support to the mineral spectroscopist, and careful studies of well-characterized families of…