The founders of geology at the beginning of the last century were suspicious oflaboratories. Hutton's well-known dictum illustrates the point: "There are also superficial reasoning men . . . they judge of the great oper ations of the mineral kingdom from having kindled a fire, and looked into the bottom of a little crucible. " The idea was not unreasonable; the earth is so large and its changes are so slow and so complicated that labo ratory tests and experiments were of little help. The earth had to be studied in its own terms and geology grew up as a separate science and not as a branch of physics or chemistry. Its practitioners were, for the most part, experts in structure, stratigraphy, or paleontology, not in silicate chemistry or mechanics. The chemists broke into this closed circle before the physicists did. The problems of the classification of rocks, particularly igneous rocks, and of the nature and genesis of ores are obviously chemical and, by the mid- 19th century, chemistry was in a state where rocks could be effectively analyzed, and a classification built up depending partly on chemistry and partly on the optical study of thin specimens. Gradually the chemical study of rocks became one of the central themes of earth science.

Inhalt
1 Introduction.- 1. Classical Definition of Geochemistry.- 2. The Role of Geochemical Analysis.- 3. Summary.- 2 Statistics.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Basic Concepts.- 3. Measures of Location and Dispersion.- 4. Frequency Distributions.- 5. Standard Error.- 6. Tests of Significance.- 7. Regression.- 8. Analysis of Variance.- 9. Sampling Methods.- 10. Statistical Tables.- 11. Applications to Analytical Methods.- References.- 3 Chemical Analysis and Sample Preparation.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Sample Preparation.- 3. Dissolution of Geologic Samples.- 4. Methods of Separation.- 5. Methods of Determination.- 6. Advantages, Disadvantages, and Limitations of Wet Chemical Analyses.- References.- 4 Ion-Exchange Chromatography.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Ion-Exchanging Materials.- 3. Ion-Exchange Selectivity.- 4. Anion-Exchange Separations of Metals.- 5. Mixed Solvents in Ion-Exchange Separations.- 6. Special Ion-Exchange Techniques.- 7. Applications to Geochemical Analysis.- References.- 5 Colorimetry.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Theoretical Considerations.- 3. Instrumentation.- 4. Sample Preparation.- 5. Photometric Measurements.- 6. Applications.- References.- 6 Infrared Spectrometry.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Techniques of Sample Presentation.- 3. Quantitative Applications in Geochemistry.- 4. Mineral Identification with Infrared.- 5. Crystal-Chemistry Studies.- References.- 7 Optical Emission Spectroscopy.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Equipment and Facilities.- 3. Techniques.- 4. Geochemical Applications.- 5. Literature.- 6. Evaluation of the Method.- 7. Future Developments.- References.- 8 Atomic Absorption.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Principles of Atomic Absorption.- 3. Apparatus.- 4. Sensitivity, Accuracy, and Interferences.- 5. Analysis of Geologic Samples by Atomic Absorption.- 6. Geochemical Prospecting.- 7. Recent and Future Developments.- References.- 9 X-Ray Techniques.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Theoretical Considerations.- 3. Instrumentation.- 4. X-Ray Diffraction.- 5. X-Ray Absorptiometry.- 6. X-Ray-Emission Spectrography.- References.- 10 Radiometric Technique.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Fundamentals.- 3. Radiation Detectors.- 4. Radiometric Prospecting.- 5. Quantitative Determination of Natural Radioelements.- 6. Radiometric Age Determinations.- References.- 11 Nuclear Activation Analysis.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Reactor-Thermal-Neutron Activation Analysis.- 3. 14-MeV Neutron Activation Analysis.- 4. Charged-Particle and Photon Activation Analyses.- 5. Activation Analysis in the Geosciences.- 5.1. Mineral Prospecting.- 5.2. Logging Techniques.- 5.3. Ore Sorting.- References.- 12 Mass Spectrometry.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Stable Carbon-and Oxygen-Isotope Mass Spectrometry.- 3. Trace-Element-Concentration Determination by Spark-Source Mass Spectrometry.- References.