Introduction to mineralogy / Введение в минералогию

This book was written to provide a comprehensive text for teaching mineralogy to undergraduate students in the geosciences. Mineralogy is an essential because all geoscientists continually deal directly or indirectly with minerals in their professional work. The details of what specifically should be included in mineralogy courses are, however, subject to some debate and the point is often made that most students taking mineralogy courses are not going to be mineralogists. The challenge, therefore, is to present a survey of mineralogy that is sufficiently comprehensive to be useful in a wide range of mineralogy courses. The text must both provide specific knowledge about minerals needed by students for their future professional work and, perhaps more importantly, help students develop the intellectual tools and habits of mind that are essential parts of a scientific education. It is assumed that students using this book have the background normally acquired in a conventional introductory physical geology course and at least some exposure to college-level chemistry. <...>