Before entering fully into the meaning of the term petrology, it is necessary to proceed to establish its etymological origin. In this sense, we have to state that it derives from Greek, since it is made up of three parts in that language:
-The noun “petros”, which can be translated as “stone”.
-The name “logos”, which is equivalent to “study”.
-The suffix “-ia”, which is used to indicate “action” or “quality”.
The petrology is the discipline in charge of analyzing the stones. It is a division of the geology, the science that is dedicated to studying the matter that makes up our planet.
Petrology experts, therefore, investigate the characteristics of the rocks and the links that they maintain with each other. Among its objects of interest are the procedures that lead to the appearance of the masses stony and the different chemical and physical characteristics of the stones.
In addition to all the above, we can establish that petrology is divided into two large branches, such as the following:
-Endogenous petrology, which is the science that is responsible for carrying out the study of what the deep layers of the Earth are.
-Exogenous petrology, which, as its name indicates, is the discipline that aims to study and analyze the rocks that are born near the earth’s surface.
At a general level, petrology works with three kinds of rocks. On the one hand, study the rocks classified as sedimentary, which are those produced from water, wind and other agents of the erosion. There is even a specialty of petrology focused on these stones, which is known as sedimentary petrology.
Petrology also analyzes the Metamorphic rocks, arisen when the stones modify their structure due to the temperature and the pressure that is registered inside the planet.
Finally, petrology is dedicated to studying the igneous rocks, originated by the wash that are expelled by volcanoes and by the process that leads to cooling the magma that is contained in the interior of the earth’s surface.
Petrology works in conjunction with petrography, another division of the geology which, in his case, specializes in studying the composition of rocks to describe them. Petrology, on the other hand, is more aimed at generating knowledge about the birth and nature of stones.
As we have mentioned, petrology is not a science that is isolated from the rest, but participates and actively collaborates with many others. Thus, for example, if we go into the field of geological disciplines, we find that it is closely linked to some such as mineralogy, paleontology, stratigraphy and even geodynamics.
However, it should not be overlooked that it also maintains close relationships with other sciences that have nothing to do with geology. Specifically, we are referring to disciplines such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, ecology or biology.
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