The concept of geochemical potential field exemplified by ore formation field

Geochemical potential field is defined as the scope within the earth’s space where a given component in a certain phase of a certain material system is acted upon by a diffusion force, depending on its spatial coordinatesX, Y andZ. The three coordinates follow the relations: $$NF_{ix} = - \frac{{\partial \mu }}{{\partial x}}, NF_{iy} = - \frac{{\partial \mu }}{{\partial y}}, NF_{iz} = - \frac{{\partial \mu }}{{\partial z}}$$ The characteristics of such a field can be summarized as: (1) The summation of geochemical potentials related to the coordinatesX, Y, Z, or pseudo-velocity head, pseudo-pressure head and pseudo-potential head of a certain component in the earth is a constant as given by $$\mu _x + \mu _y + \mu _z = c$$ or $$\mu _{x2} + \mu _{y2} + \mu _{z2} = \mu _{x1} + \mu _{y1} + \mu _{z1} $$ Derived from these relations is the principle of geochemical potential conservation. The following relations have the same physical significance: $$\mu _k + \mu _u + \mu _p = c$$ or $$\mu _{k2} + \mu _{u2} + \mu _{p2} = \mu _{k1} + \mu _{u1} + \mu _{p1} $$ (2) Geochemical potential field is a vector field quantified by geochemical field intensity which is defined as the diffusion force applied to one molecular volume (or one atomic volume) of a certain component moving from its higher concentration phase to lower concentration phase. The geochemical potential field intensity is given by $$\begin{gathered} E = - grad\mu \hfill \\ E = \frac{{RT}}{x}i + \frac{{RT}}{y}j + \frac{{RT}}{z}K \hfill \\ \end{gathered} $$ The present theory has been inferred to interpret the mechanism of formation of some tungsten ore deposits in China.