Abstract
Considering silicates and spinels as a close packing of spherical ions, the oxygen ions because of their relatively large ionic radius use up more than 90% of the total ionic volume. The close packing of oxygen forms a framework structure with partially constant physical properties. The cations, including silicon, are small enough to fit into the interstices between the large-sized oxygen ions without widening their framework structure. The idealized space-filling character of the cations explains the variations in physical properties of minerals on the basis of one variable only, the cation packing index labeled k -value: k = (number of cations per mole)/(Avogadro's number &s molar volume). This variable is used to describe the density as well as the seismic velocity. It is shownthat relationships between k -value and both density and seismic velocity have approximately a linear character.
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