How do crystals nucleate and grow? Why and how do crystals form such a wide variety of morphologies, from polyhedral to dendritic and spherulitic forms? These are questions that have been posed since the seventeenth century, and are still of vital importance today both for modern technology, and to understand the Earth's interior and the formation of minerals by living organisms. In this book, Ichiro Sunagawa sets out clearly the atomic processes behind crystal growth, and describes case studies of complex systems from diamond, calcite and pyrite, to crystals formed through biomineralization, such as the aragonite of shells, and apatite of teeth. Essential reading for advanced graduates and researchers in mineralogy and materials science.

Table of Contents

Foreword to the English translation; Preface; Part I. Fundamental Concepts: 1. Introduction; 2. Crystal forms; 3. Crystal growth; 4. Factors determining the morphology of polyhedral crystals; 5. Surface microtopography of crystal faces; 6. Perfection and homogeneity of single crystals; 7. Regular intergrowth of crystals; 8. Forms and textures of polycrystalline aggregates; Part II. Application to Complicated and Complex Systems (Case Studies): 9. Diamond; 10. Rock-crystal (quartz); 11. Pyrite and calcite; 12. Minerals formed by vapour growth; 13. Crystals formed by metasomatism and metamorphism; 14. Crystals formed through biological activity; Appendixes; Materials index; Subject index.

Reviews

"I can recommend [the book] to any mineralogist who cn appreciate new ideas in the theoretical approach to crystal forms and in different methods and techniques for internal and external study of crystals. This up-to-date work has a place also in introductory courses in crystallography and mineralogy." The Canadian Mineralogist, R.I. Kostov, University of Mining and Geology, Bulgaria