Book excerpt: Silicate Glasses and Melts, Second Edition describes the structure-property-composition relationships for silicate glasses and melts from a geological and industrial perspective. Updated sections include (i) characterization of silicate melt and COHN fluid structure (with and without dissolved silicate components) with pressure, temperature, and redox conditions and responses of structural variables to chemical composition, (ii) determination of solubility and solution mechanisms of COHN volatiles in silicate melts and minerals and of solubility and solution mechanisms of silicate components in COHN fluids, and (iii) effects of very high pressure on structure and properties of melts and glasses. This new book is an essential resource for researchers in a number of fields, including geology, geophysics, geoscience, volcanology, material science, glass science, petrology and mineralogy. - Brings together multidisciplinary research scattered across the scientific literature into one reference, with a focus on silicate melts and their application to natural systems - Emphasizes linking melt properties to melt structure - Includes a discussion of the pros and cons of the use of glass as a proxy for melt structure and properties - Written by highly regarded experts in the field who, among other honors, were the 2006 recipients of the prestigious G.W. Morey award of the American Ceramic Society