The relation between thermal heat capacity of rock forming minerals and mean atomic weight

The article establishes an empirical relation between the thermal capacity of rock-forming minerals and their mean atomic weight M based on existing experimental data. The basic conclusions are as follows. 1. In a given class of minerals, the mean atomic thermal capacity is a constant, while the specific thermal capacity is proportional to the mean atomic weight. 2. The mean atomic thermal capacity decreases with increasing complication of the compound (increase in the number of atoms in the molecule), which, is equivalent to a decrease in $с_{р}$ with M remaining constant. 3. The specific thermal capacity of minerals that form rocks of the crust and upper mantle is a constant at 300°K and equal to 0.18 cal/g °K to within about 5%.