Mind over magma : the story of igneous petrology

Mind over Magma chronicles the scientific effort to unravel the mysteries of rocks that solidified on or beneath Earth's surface from the intensely hot, molten material called magma. The first-ever comprehensive history of the study of such igneous rocks, it traces the development of igneous petrology from ancient descriptions of volcanic eruptions to recent work incorporating insights from physical chemistry, isotope studies, and fluid dynamics. Intellectual developments in the field--from the application of scientific methods to the study of rocks to the discovery of critical data and the development of the field's major theories--are considered within their broader geographical, social, and technological contexts. Mind over Magma examines the spread of igneous petrology from western Europe to North America, South Africa, Japan, Australia, and much of the rest of the world. It considers the professionalization and Anglicization of the field, detailing changes in publication outlets, the role of women, and the influence of government funding. The book also highlights the significant role that technological developments--including the polarizing microscope, high-temperature quenching furnaces, and instrumental analysis--have played in the discovery of new data and development of revolutionary insights into the nature of igneous rocks. Both an engagingly told story and a major reference, Mind over Magma is the only available history of this important field. As such, it will be appreciated by petrologists, geochemists, and other geologists as well as by those interested in the history of science. The foundational era -- 1. Breath-pipes and ignivomous mountains -- early concepts of volcanism -- 2. Basaltes prismatiques -- lava, columnar basalt, and ancient volcanoes -- 3. Fire or water? -- the debate over the origin of basalt -- 4. The "insolently triumphant dogma" -- the collapse of the concept of aqueous basalt -- 5. Subterraneous lava -- the recognition of intrusive granite -- The primitive era -- 6. Wet or dry? -- the origin of granite -- 7. Classes and orders -- petrography and classification in the early nineteenth century -- 8. Basalt and trachyte -- early theories of diversity -- The microscope era -- 9. Minute objects, great conclusions -- the rise of microscopic petrography -- 10. Basalt or melaphyre? -- igneous rocks in time -- 11. Provinces and plugs -- igneous rocks in space -- 12. Spaltung und kerne -- the emergence of the theory of differentiation -- 13. Physical chemistry and petrology -- the mechanism of differentiation -- 14. The language of petrology -- nomenclature and classification -- 15. Meldometers and thermocouples -- early experimental petrology -- The experimental era -- 16. Clearing the mists -- the theory of crystallization-differentiation -- 17. An unsurpassed natural laboratory -- differentiated sills and layered intrusions -- 18. Cone sheets and cauldrons -- the mechanics of igneous intrusion -- 19. Magma or emanations? -- the beginnings of the granite controversy -- 20. Pontiffs and soaks -- the resolution of the granite controversy -- 21. Modes and norms -- classification in crisis -- The geochemical era -- 22. Structures and spectra -- the geochemical revolution in petrology -- 23. The sea below, the heavens above -- the extension of petrology -- 24. Delta and epsilon -- stable and radiogenic isotopes in igneous petrogenesis -- 25. Mathematical modeling -- trace-element studies in igneous petrogenesis -- 26. Bombs and buffers -- experimental petrology after Bowen -- 27. Classification salvaged? -- IUGS to the rescue -- The fluid dynamical era -- 28. Rayleigh and Reynolds -- the fluid dynamics of magma chambers -- Paradigm lost, paradigm regained? -- cumulate theory under fire -- 30. Past and future -- some concluding remarks.