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I Saw a Crystal: An Historical Account of the Deciphering of the Markings in Mica

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Book cover Quodons in Mica

Part of the book series: Springer Series in Materials Science ((SSMATERIALS,volume 221))

Abstract

Sometimes the progress in science in better understood within an historical perspective specially for non specialist readers. This is what it is attempted in this chapter. The background both in science and personal of a researcher is very likely to influence reactions to casual observations that turns out to be important. The main example is the author’s first encounter with a sheet of mica with dark tracks and dots. His knowledge of particle physics and crystallography made possible to realize the similitude of some tracks to particle tracks in a cloud chamber and stimulated his curiosity and further research.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    An oxide of iron. It is black in colour. It is magnetic and a conductor of electricity.

  2. 2.

    A calcium rich mineral containing iron, aluminium, silicon, oxygen and some hydrogen.

  3. 3.

    Conference on Nonlinear Coherent Structures in Physics and Biology, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, July 10–14, 1995.

  4. 4.

    http://www.ma.hw.ac.uk/solitons/press.html.

  5. 5.

    http://www.ma.hw.ac.uk/~chris/culham2.mpg.

  6. 6.

    The last two characters are fictional.

  7. 7.

    Quodons in mica: nonlinear localized travelling excitations in crystals Meeting in honour of Prof. Mike Russell, Altea, September 18–21, 2013, http://quodons.webs.upv.es/.

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Acknowledgments

During the more than 50 years of these studies many people have assisted and guided me through the mysteries and difficulties of cross-discipline research. Thirty years ago my onetime line manager and friend Prof. Rob W. Witty encouraged this research and arranged financial support that enabled computer studies of mica to be made by Dr. David R. Collins and myself. These studies led to a meeting with Prof. Chris J. Eilbeck that developed into an ongoing collaboration. I will never be able to thank these three people enough for their support, hard work and constructive discussions. With the benefit of hindsight I wish to thank Prof. Sir Arnold Wolfendale and his group for their critical analysis of my first publication relating to muon tracks in mica because it assisted in my identifying the dominant role played by radioactivity of potassium atoms in mica crystals. It was by studying the tracks of the positrons emitted from potassium that opened the door to finding the existence of mobile, highly localised non-linear lattice excitations. My thanks also to John W. Steeds for his skill and persistence that led to the identification of the mineral epidote in some tracks in mica. For her tolerance in responding to my often poorly framed questions I thank Prof. Leonor Cruzeiro. Also, to Prof. Li Yijie for TEM studies of track decorations. I wish to thank my partner Patricia A. Lindsell for her patience and tolerance of my obsession with mica. I am grateful to the then Science and Engineering Research Council for their financial assistance in the uncertain early years of this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, University of Pretoria, Lynnwood Road, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa

    F. Michael Russell

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  1. F. Michael Russell
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Correspondence to F. Michael Russell .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Física Aplicada I, Group of Nonlinear Physics, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain

    Juan F. R. Archilla

  2. Física Aplicada, EPS Gandía, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Gandia, Spain

    Noé Jiménez

  3. Física Aplicada, EPS Gandia, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Gandia, Spain

    Victor J. Sánchez-Morcillo

  4. Matemática Aplicada, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Valencia, Spain

    Luis M. García-Raffi

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Russell, F.M. (2015). I Saw a Crystal: An Historical Account of the Deciphering of the Markings in Mica. In: Archilla, J., Jiménez, N., Sánchez-Morcillo, V., García-Raffi, L. (eds) Quodons in Mica. Springer Series in Materials Science, vol 221. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21045-2_20

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