Abstract
THE true phase relations of Mg-rich pyroxenes1–3 are obscure partly because most measurements were made on cooled specimens which underwent a crystallographic transformation on cooling. This communication reinterprets the phase transformation occurring in clinoenstatite4, thereby providing a general interpretation for all Mg-rich pyroxenes and, by implication, for other rock-forming silicates. Magnesium-bearing pyroxenes typically occur in basic rocks and meteorites and the crystallization history can be partly deduced from crystallographic relics consequent on phase inversion. The mechanical stability of some pressed ceramics depends on the extent of volume change occurring on the phase inversion of Mg-pyroxene.
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SMITH, J. Magnesium Pyroxenes at High Temperature: Inversion in Clinoenstatite. Nature 222, 256–257 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1038/222256a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/222256a0
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