Abstract
THIS exposition of crystallography has been written by “an amateur “with the intention to help “other amateurs.” Amateurs differ, however, very widely in the variety and extent of their interests and also in their keenness. The author has evidently had a mathematical training, and it is this aspect of the subject that specially appeals to him. Very few amateurs, such as those possessing a collection of minerals, would, we imagine, be anxious to begin by calculating the axial ratios of their crystals. They would rather wish to gain some insight into the general relations of the external forms and symmetry of crystals; and they would be repelled by pages of mathematical discussion and formulae. Having produced such a work on crystallography, the author must no longer regard himself as a mere amateur, but as a serious crystallographer. For these reasons the book cannot be recommended to amateurs; it should, in fact, be carefully kept out of the reach of anyone who displays the slightest curiosity respecting crystals, otherwise the gark will surely be extinguished. On the other nand, the book will be of real value to the serious student who has already made some start in crystallography, for it will present the subject to him in a somewhat different light from that, given in the ordinary text-books; and taking the two together the subject will no doubt be studied more intelligently.
An Amateur's Introduction to Crystallography (from Morphological Observations).
By Sir W. P. Beale, Bart. Pp. vii + 220. (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1915.) Price 4s. 6d. net.
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S., L. An Amateur's Introduction to Crystallography (from Morphological Observations) . Nature 95, 614 (1915). https://doi.org/10.1038/095614a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/095614a0