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Who is Ivan Stranski, you ask? If you Google his name you will find thousands of sites that talk about him. In fact, the Kossel – Stranski model of crystal growth and the Stranski–Krastanov mode of growth of thin epitaxial films are named after him – just of two of the many scientific ideas and concepts Professor Stranski introduced in science (and through which a whole new field in science was born). Today thousands of physicists, chemists and material scientists all over the world are working in the field of crystal growth, particularly in epitaxial growth and nucleation which are necessary for the invention of new materials and high technologies. In this respect, the life, personality and way of thinking of this remarkable scientist should be of great interest in both beginners and professionals in science. The book describe the life and scientific achievements of Ivan Stranski, Bulgarian – German physical chemist and the father of crystal growth, against the historical backdrop of wars, massacres, and remarkable scientific discoveries in the 20th century. It covers his family roots, which are remarkable in their own right, the life and career both in Bulgaria and Germany (West Berlin), and his scientific achievements, including his most important contribution to the physics of crystal growth. The book captures Professor Stranski’s personality and way of thinking as much as possible from the recollections of his disciples and contemporaries. Short biographical notes about the most renowned students in Bulgaria, Rostislav Kaischew and Lyubomir Krastanov with whom Stranski developed his most fundamental ideas are also included (World Scientific). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magma is commonly thought to be stored as a crystal-rich mush within vertically extensive, crustal storage regions. A key unknown is how to remobilise and erupt such crystal-rich material, and whether the growth of gas bubbles within the mush could promote remobilisation. In order to investigate this, we need improved constraints on the timing of volatile saturation in magmas. The mineral apatite represents a potentially useful record of pre-eruptive magmatic volatiles, but data interpretation is complex because exchange reactions control the volatile partitioning. Model solutions are therefore non-unique. Here, we present a numerical forward modelling program with a sensitivity analysis function, which addresses non-uniqueness by identifying alternative sets of starting parameters that match a target compositional trend through a population of apatite crystals. The model is applied to a new dataset of volatiles in apatite from the 12.9 ka Laacher See eruption, Eifel volcanic region, Germany. The results indicate that the magma was initially strongly volatile-undersaturated and became saturated through progressive crystal fractionation. Apatite crystals are not in volatile or trace element equilibrium with their carrier melts, indicating dispersal of crystals into different chemical environments. Consideration of apatite diffusivities suggests that this reorganisation occurred shortly before eruption. Our modelling results also allow us to constrain directly the amount of pre-eruptive magmatic vapour emitted during the explosive eruption, highlighting the importance of considering the behaviour of halogens during magma storage. Overall, our approach confirms the value of measuring apatite volatile contents and highlights the potential of this method to provide quantitative constraints on magmatic evolution and storage conditions. • Apatite volatile compositions record magma fractionation and second boiling. • Apatites are not in equilibrium with their carrier liquids. • Apatite compositions record rapid destabilisation of crystal mush prior to eruption. • The apatite crystal record and modelling informs on volcanic gas emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]