Robert Hazen, staff scientist at the Geophysical Laboratory and the Clarence Robinson professor of Earth science at George Mason University, will give a talk* titled "Private Lives of Minerals" at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 15, 2016, in the Greenewalt Lecture Hall as part of the Carnegie Institution of Washington's Neighborhood Lecture Series.
The distribution of minerals on Earth, Mars, and other worlds mimics social networks, as commonly applied to such varied topics as Facebook interactions, the spread of disease, and terrorism networks. Applying social network analysis (SNA) to common rocks, such as granite and basalt, reveals patterns of cohesion, segregation, density, and cliques that are similar to those of human social networks. These patterns provide new insights into the way planets evolve, especially the co-evolving geosphere and biosphere. SNA also offers promising new pedagogical approaches to teaching mineralogy and petrology.
A “chord diagram” (above) of economically important cobalt minerals employs colored arcs to reveal which minerals commonly coexist with others. Each arc of the circle represents a different mineral, with the length of the arc corresponding to the relative abundance of that mineral. Prominent features include arcs that link the important cobalt ore minerals cobaltite and skutterudite with their commonest weathering product, the beautiful purple mineral erythrite.
Coffee, tea, and light refreshments will be served before the lecture at 6:30 p.m.
Click here to reserve a seat.
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*Lecture Hall seating is first come, first serve. Eventbrite tickets are not required, so please arrive early to reserve your seat. Eventbrite registration is encouraged to skip the sign-in process at the door.