Potts P.J. A Handbook of Silicate Rock Analysis

New York: Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 1992. — 622 p. — ISBN 978-0-216-93209-8; ISBN 978-1-4615-3270-5.The techniques available for the chemical analysis of silicate rocks have undergone a revolution over the last 30 years. No longer is the analytical balance the only instrument used for quantitative measurement, as it was in the days of classical gravimetric procedures. A wide variety of instrumental techniques is now commonly used for silicate rock analysis, including some that incorporate excitation sources and detection systems that have been developed only in the last few years. These instrumental developments now permit a wide range of trace elements to be determined on a routine basis.
In parallel with these exciting advances, users have tended to become more remote from the data production process. This is, in part, an inevitable result of the widespread introduction of microcomputers for instrument control, and in part a consequence of the logistics of organizing a modern laboratory for rapid and efficient routine analysis. The resultant lack of interaction between user and machine leads to the danger of a 'black-box' attitude towards analytical chemistry-samples in at one end, result out at the other without an appreciation of what happens in between.
However, to use an analytical technique most effectively, it is essential to understand its analytical characteristics, in particular the excitation mechanism and the response of the signal detection system. In this book, these characteristics have been described within a framework of practical analytical applications, especially for the routine multi-element analysis of silicate rocks. All analytical techniques available for routine silicate rock analysis are discussed, including some more specialized procedures. Sufficient detail is included to provide practitioners of geochemistry with a firm base from which to assess current performance, and in some cases, future developments.