corundum, inclusions.5, gems

An important early study by Humphry Davy of fluid and gaseous inclusions enclosed within crystals. Davy examines cavities containing liquid and aeriform matter in several minerals and considers the physical state, composition and behavior of the enclosed substances when the crystals are heated or broken. The paper is significant in the history of mineralogy because it helped establish that crystals can trap fluids and gases during their formation, providing evidence about the conditions under which minerals crystallize. For gemology, it is an early contribution to the study of fluid inclusions, which later became important for understanding gemstone genesis, geological environment and, in some cases, geographic origin.