Abstract
A noteworthy feature of some high-pressure silicate minerals is their ready vitrification, either through moderate heating at 1 bar1–5, as for jadeite (NaAlSi2O6) or stishovite (SiO2), or through room-temperature decompression6, as for calcium silicate perovskite (CaSiO3). Little attention seems to have been paid to the actual significance of such transitions, and here I argue that these simply represent crystal fusion. The unusual aspect is that the temperature of fusion at low pressures is below the temperature range of the glass–liquid transition. Through a different, thermochemical line of evidence, this extends an overlooked argument outlined by Jeanloz7 following the report of the glass/ice I transition by Mishima et al.8. The similarities and differences with this transition will be pointed out, as will some theoretical and geophysical implications.
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Richet, P. Superheating, melting and vitrification through decompression of high-pressure minerals. Nature 331, 56–58 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/331056a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/331056a0
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