Shock compression of powdered SiO2, Mg2SiO4, ZrSiO4 and other materials

Phase-transformation in shock-compressed solids has been studied by many scientists in the last few years. Geologists hoped to apply these investigations to the theory of solid-state transformation in the Earth's mantle (Dobretsov et al., 1968; Deribas et al., 1966; Ringwood et al., 1967; McQueen et al., 1967) but the specificity of shock compression prevents the realization of this idea at present. However, experiments in shock compression of geological materials are interesting in themselves. These experiments may be particularly useful for the general theory of solid-state transformation and for meteorite problems.