"In crystallography, crystal structure is a description of the ordered arrangement of atoms, ions, or molecules in a crystalline material."
The study of the arrangement of atoms, ions, or molecules in a crystalline solid.
Crystal systems: The seven basic crystal systems (cubic, tetragonal, orthorhombic, monoclinic, triclinic, hexagonal, and trigonal) and their characteristics.
Symmetry: The concept of symmetry and its relationship to crystal structures, including point groups, space groups, and crystallographic axes.
Mineral properties: The physical and chemical properties of minerals, including color, luster, cleavage, fracture, hardness, and density.
Crystal lattice: The crystal lattice structure and its relationship to the unit cell, the basic building block of crystals.
X-ray diffraction: The use of X-ray diffraction to determine crystal structures, including the Bragg equation and Bragg's law.
Crystal defects: The types and causes of crystal defects, including dislocations, vacancies, and interstitials.
Crystal growth: The process of crystal growth, including nucleation, crystal growth mechanisms, and crystal morphology.
Crystal chemistry: The chemical composition of minerals and their relationship to crystal structures, including solid solution, substitution, and electron microscopy.
Mineral classification: The classification of minerals based on their chemical composition and crystal structure, including the Dana and Strunz mineral classification systems.
Crystallography software: The use of software tools, such as CrystalMaker, to visualize and manipulate crystal structures, including crystallographic databases and programs for diffraction simulations.
Mineral occurrences: The geological occurrence of minerals and their economic significance, including mineral exploration and extraction.
Crystallography history: The history of crystallography and its milestones, including the discovery of X-ray diffraction and the development of crystal structure theory.
Cubic: In a cubic crystal, the unit cell has the same length on all edges, and the angles between faces are all 90 degrees.
Tetragonal: In a tetragonal crystal, the unit cell has the same length on two edges and a different length on the third, perpendicular edge, with all angles being 90 degrees.
Orthorhombic: In an orthorhombic crystal, the unit cell has different lengths on all three edges, with all angles being 90 degrees.
Monoclinic: In a monoclinic crystal, the unit cell has different lengths on all three edges, with two non-90 degree angles and one 90 degree angle.
Triclinic: In a triclinic crystal, the unit cell has different lengths on all three edges, with all angles being non-90 degrees.
Hexagonal: In a hexagonal crystal, the unit cell has two edges of the same length, forming a 60 degree angle with a third, perpendicular edge, and the other three edges are of equal length, forming 120 degree angles with the other edges.
Rhombohedral: In a rhombohedral crystal, the unit cell is a rhombus with all edges of equal length but angles that are not 90 degrees.
Trigonal: In a trigonal crystal, the unit cell is a rhombus with two equal sides forming a 60-degree angle, while the third is at a 120-degree angle to them.
Other specialized structures: Some minerals have unusual crystal structures that don't fit into the above categories, such as the amorphous structure found in glasses.
"Ordered structures occur from the intrinsic nature of the constituent particles to form symmetric patterns that repeat along the principal directions of three-dimensional space in matter."
"The smallest group of particles in the material that constitutes this repeating pattern is the unit cell of the structure."
"The unit cell completely reflects the symmetry and structure of the entire crystal, which is built up by repetitive translation of the unit cell along its principal axes."
"The translation vectors define the nodes of the Bravais lattice."
"The lengths of the principal axes, or edges, of the unit cell and the angles between them are the lattice constants, also called lattice parameters or cell parameters."
"The symmetry properties of the crystal are described by the concept of space groups."
"All possible symmetric arrangements of particles in three-dimensional space may be described by the 230 space groups."
"The crystal structure and symmetry play a critical role in determining many physical properties, such as cleavage, electronic band structure, and optical transparency."
"The ordered arrangement of atoms, ions, or molecules in a crystalline material is determined by the crystal structure."
"The symmetry properties of the crystal are described by the concept of space groups."
"The unit cell completely reflects the symmetry and structure of the entire crystal."
"The lengths of the principal axes, or edges, of the unit cell and the angles between them are the lattice constants."
"The translation vectors define the nodes of the Bravais lattice."
"The unit cell is built up by repetitive translation along its principal axes."
"The crystal structure and symmetry play a critical role in determining many physical properties."
"All possible symmetric arrangements of particles in three-dimensional space may be described by the 230 space groups."
"The crystal structure and symmetry play a critical role in determining many physical properties, such as cleavage, electronic band structure, and optical transparency."
"The ordered arrangement of atoms, ions, or molecules is the fundamental feature of crystal structures."
"Ordered structures occur from the intrinsic nature of the constituent particles to form symmetric patterns that repeat along the principal directions of three-dimensional space."