On power-law kinetics of transport phenomena in minerals

Abstract

 Power laws can be written which describe many physical phenomena in materials and can be of great utility. However, they can sometimes provide a false picture of a relationship between two variables when dependence on a third parameter is not taken into account. (For example, electrical conductivity, diffusion, and creep can be shown to have a spurious power-law dependence on oxygen fugacity if the dependence of activation energy on oxygen fugacity is not considered). Extrapolations of data with such spurious power-law dependences can provide a false picture of material behavior under in-situ conditions in the Earth.