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Figure 1.
In granites worldwide, accumulations of K-feldspar such as this have been interpreted variously as slurries deposited on a magma chamber floor, as concentrations produced by shear sorting during magma flow, and as masses that rose buoyantly within a magma chamber. These interpretations can be ruled out on the basis of phase equilibria, mineral chemistry, volcanic petrology, and basic physics. Are the rocks lying? Photo courtesy of Bryan Law.
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