Memoir on the discovery of high-density silica

Abstract

The first synthesis of stishovite, a high-density form of silica, is described by the author, Sergei Stishov. Stishov was a graduate student at Moscow State University in geochemistry in the period 1960–1962, and developed an interest in the problem of the interior of the Earth and its constituents. He decided to look for the high-pressure phase of silica predicted by Francis Birch in 1952. Stishov was able to perform experiments with a high-pressure apparatus at the Institute of High-pressure Physics in Moscow, and in 1961 he obtained the new phase. The scientific politics that followed included attempts by others to take credit for Stishov's discovery, controversy over the naming of the new phase, and Stishov's eventual separation from the Institute. An epilogue and some material of historical interest are appended.