SOME ASPECTS OF EXPERIMENTAL PETROLOGY

Experiment in petrology is by no means new but during the past twenty years or so it has become an integral part of most significant research in petrology. It is a part only, but a powerful one when added to field and tectonic description and the array of modern techniques of describing the chemical and structural features of the mineral phases which make up the rocks. In a review of this length we have made no attempt to summarize all recent work. Rather we have selected certain topics to illustrate petrological problems where experiment is essential to our appreciation of the problem; some may serve to illustrate the difficulties and limitations of experiment while others point the way to a much fuller understanding of petrogenetic factors. © 1969.