The interplay of stress and chemical processes in rocks: why it matters, what is explained, and some unsolved problems

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• Professor John Wheeler, University of Liverpool
• Thursday 21 November 2019, 11:30-12:30
• Open Plan Area, BP Institute, Madingley Rise CB3 0EZ.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Catherine Pearson.

The effect of pressure on chemical and phase equilibrium in crystalline materials is well understood. For example there is no basic argument about the circumstances under which pressure turns graphite into diamond. However the Earth and many manufactured crystalline materials around us are under stress. How does that alter the thermodynamics? This topic is currently controversial in Earth science. In this talk I outline some of the mathematics behind the question, and show how one key equation is substantiated by numerous different sorts of experiment. I then apply that equation to other scenarios and show that it predicts some odd and significant effects which are yet to be fully tested (for example big offsets in the conditions for solid state reactions). I will also describe some interesting mathematical problems that it leads to.

This talk is part of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Flows (IEEF) series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• All Talks (aka the CURE list)
• Cambridge Energy Seminars
• Department of Earth Sciences seminars
• Institute for Energy and Environmental Flows (IEEF)
• NanoDTC Energy Materials Talks
• Open Plan Area, BP Institute, Madingley Rise CB3 0EZ
• history
• ps635

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