Abstract
CONSIDERATION of the crystal structure of mica1 suggests that the strong adhesive forces observed between mica cleavage surfaces may be the same as the forces which hold the alumino-silicate layers together in a block of the material. Cleavage occurs between two such layers along a plane of potassium ions, and the surfaces so formed may be flat and molecularly smooth over appreciable areas2. Apparently, both filled and empty potassium ion sites are present on the cleavage plane, but there is little surface migration or diffusion of potassium ions. This is shown by the following experiment.
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References
Bragg, W. L., “Atomic Structure of Minerals”, 203–216 (Cornell Univ. Press, 1937).
Bailey, A., and Courtney-Pratt, J. S., Proc. Roy. Soc., A, 227, 500 (1955).
Orowan, E., Nature, 154, 341 (1944).
Bridgman, P. W., Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts and Sci., 77, 187 (1949).
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GAINES, G., TABOR, D. Surface Adhesion and Elastic Properties of Mica. Nature 178, 1304–1305 (1956). https://doi.org/10.1038/1781304b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1781304b0
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