Table of Contents
Crystal structure and its types with examples
A crystal is a solid material that has a repeating, three-dimensional pattern of atoms, ions, or molecules. The regularity of the pattern gives crystals their characteristic appearance. The type of crystal structure depends on the type of atoms, ions, or molecules that make it up.
There are six main types of crystal structures, which are designated by the letters: tetragonal, hexagonal, cubic, orthorhombic, monoclinic, and triclinic. However each type has a characteristic set of angles between the planes that make up the structure.
Some common examples of crystals include diamond, quartz, and also salt.
What is a Unit Cell?
A unit cell is the smallest repeating unit of a crystal lattice. The unit cell is the basic building block of a crystal and its shape is determined by the chemical composition and also arrangement of its atoms.
Types of Lattice Structures
There are three types of lattice structures:
- Crystal lattice
- Molecular lattice
- Quasi-crystal lattice
1. Crystal lattice: In a crystal lattice, the atoms are arranged in a regular, repeating pattern. The atoms in a crystal lattice are held together by chemical bonds.
2. Molecular lattice: A molecular lattice formed when the atoms in a crystal lattice joined together by covalent bonds.
3. Quasi-crystal lattice: A quasi-crystal lattice formed when the atoms in a crystal lattice joined together by ionic bonds.
Types of Crystal Systems
There are seven crystal systems, which determined by the way the crystal molecules arranged.
Cubic: The molecules arranged in a cube-like pattern.
- Tetrahedral: The molecules arranged in a tetrahedron-like pattern.
- Hexagonal: The molecules arranged in a hexagonal pattern.
- Octahedral: The molecules arranged in an octahedral pattern.
- Rhombic: The molecules arranged in a rhombic pattern.
- Orthorhombic: The molecules are arranged in an orthorhombic pattern.
- Monoclinic: The molecules arranged in a monoclinic pattern.
Crystal-ware
The word “crystal” derived from the Greek word “krystallos”, meaning ice. The ancient Greeks believed that ice was a form of water that had frozen so solid that it would never melt.
Crystallography
- Crystallography the study of the arrangement of atoms in solids. The word “crystallography” derives from the Greek words crystallon, meaning “a small crystal,” and also graphein, meaning “to write.”
- Crystallography used to determine the structures of crystals and the arrangement of atoms within them. Therefore the structures of crystals can used to identify the materials from which they made, to understand how they behave, and to develop new materials.
- Crystallography used to determine the structures of a wide range of materials, including metals, ceramics, semiconductors, and also the organic molecules. Therefore the development of X-ray crystallography in the early 20th century was a major advance in crystallography and has used to determine the structures of thousands of crystals.
Lattice
A lattice is a repeating, three-dimensional structure made up of smaller units called lattice points. The word “lattice” comes from the Latin word for “lattice,” which means “a network of crossed or intertwined beams or bars.” However the structure of a lattice often described by its symmetry, which is a measure of how the lattice points arranged in space. Therefore 14 different types of symmetry that can used to describe a lattice, and each type of symmetry has a different name. The most common type of symmetry is cubic symmetry, which used to describe most crystals. Other types of symmetry include tetragonal, hexagonal, rhombohedral, and also orthorhombic.
Lattice in Studies
Lattice theory is a branch of mathematics that deals with the properties of lattices and also their applications. However a lattice is a group of points in a plane or space that connected by line segments.
Understanding Lattice
- A lattice is a two-dimensional grid of points, arranged in a regular, repeating pattern. The points can connected by straight lines, forming a lattice pattern.
- Lattices can used to model a variety of repeating patterns in nature, such as crystals and honeycombs. They can also used to create designs in textiles, architecture, and other art forms.
