The authors embarked on the preparation of this book some years ago without realising the magnitude of the task they had set themselves. The original idea stemmed from the realisation that although petrography is now widely acknowledged as a tool for the investigation of hardened concrete, there are no modern texts on the subject. Older books covering the general areas of cements, clinkers, concretes and related materials may have become outdated and most are long out of print. The authors, therefore, have had to gather information from a wide range of published and unpublished sources as well as drawing on their own research material and experience.

Most of the chapters comprising this monograph are based on oral presentations delivered at the meeting held in London in April 1987, to which we refer in the Preface. The additional contributions were judged to be needed in order to make the monograph more comprehensive and self-sufficient. In particular, there are two overviews written by the individual editors, which are intended to give the necessary frameworks and references to relevant previous work in the two broad and rather poorly defined fields of fracture and ductile deformation, respectively.

A rock you might hold in your hand tomorrow could contain evidence of a world once filled with dinosaurs or a continent once underwater. It is, in fact, from the study of rocks, and the fossils which they sometimes contain, ” that we have been able to learn all of what we know about the Earth’s past — such things as how long it takes a river to form a valley or a volcano to build . a 5,000 foot cone; when the Rocky Mountains were formed; and when the first forms of life appeared on the planet. 
This is a handbook for the identification of rocks, minerals, and fossils. It is designed for people, young and old, who want to learn how to collect and identify rocks and minerals — what tools are needed, what maps, where to collect, how to categorize and file specimens. Two new, easy-to-follow keys — created especially for this book— enable the collector to identify the Earth’s common rocks and minerals by following a few simple steps. <...>

It is over 20 years since this book first appeared and numerous reprints and several foreign language editions are a measure of its success. The colour plates that were specially commissioned for the First Edition have been retained, although presented in a slightly different way, and are supplemented by 17 new plates. There have been significant advances in the geological sciences over the past two decades and the text has been thoroughly revised so as to take account of them. In particular we have tried to ensure that mineral names, chemical formulae and structural data accord to current international practice as recommended by the International Mineralogical Association (IMA).

Настоящее учебное пособие предназначено для студентов, обучающихся по специальности «Геологическая съёмка, поиски и разведка месторождений полезных ископаемых». В основу пособия положены фундаментальные работы отечественных и зарубежных специалистов, авторы пособия стремились изложить материал в предельно доступной форме для понимания и усвоения сложнейших вопросов генезиса, условий преобразования, металлогении магматических и метаморфических горных пород.  Данное пособие предназначено, также, для аспирантов и геологов широкого профиля, занимающихся детальным изучением магматических и метаморфических горных пород. 

В методических указаниях излагается характеристика отдельных признаков горных пород. Описывается методика определения вида горной породы.

Методические указания предназначены для выполнения лабораторной работы по дисциплине «Строительные материалы» студентами направления подготовки 270100.62 Архитектура, 270300.62 Дизайн архитектурной среды, 270800.62 Строительство, 120700.62 Землеустройство и кадастры, 270900.62 Градостроительство.

Studies of the early Solar System (ESS) allow us to address many questions: When, and how fast, did the planets form? What was the composition of material that accreted into planets? Was this accreting material homogeneous or heterogeneous? How does our Solar System compare to numerous other planetary systems that have recently been discovered by exoplanet search programs?

В руководстве последовательно изложены основные приемы определения оптических констант минералов. Приведено полное описание минералов, позволяющее определить название минерала с помощью таблиц, данных в приложении. Особое внимание уделено методике описания магматических пород, приведены характеристики наиболее распространенных структур магматических пород и схемы описания интрузивных и эффузивных разностей.

Во второй части методических указаний для лабораторной и самостоятельной работ изложены сведения, которые составляют не менее важную основу для лабораторной части курса «Петрография»: Указаны факторы и типы метаморфизма, дана классификация магматических и метаморфических пород.

Макроскопическая диагностика позволяет подробно изучить и определить горную породу. Приводятся сведения о методах исследования минералов и горных пород: Текстура и структура горных пород; Формы залегания магматических и метаморфических горных пород.
Методические указания для обучающихся по освоению дисциплины, могут быть полезны для студентов направления подготовки 21.05.02 Прикладная геология всех форм обучения.