12.524 Mechanical Properties of Rocks, Fall 2005
A thin section of sheared quartzite under crossed polarized light. (Image Courtesy of Brian Evans.)
Highlights of this Course
Course Description
12.524 is a survey of the mechanical behavior of rocks in natural geologic situations. Topics will include a brief survey of field evidence of rock deformation, physics of plastic deformation in minerals, brittle fracture and sliding, and pressure-solution processes. We will compare results of field petrologic and structural studies to data from experimental structural geology.