crystal lattice
Quick Summary
A crystal lattice is the arrangement of atoms, molecules, or ions in a crystal, forming a repeating three-dimensional structure. Crystallography is the scientific study of these arrangements and the bonding of atoms within crystalline solids.12
The smallest repeating unit that can build the entire crystal lattice is called a unit cell. There are 14 possible configurations of these unit cells, known as Bravais lattices, which describe the orderly arrangement of atoms in a crystal. These lattices are categorized into six or seven crystal symmetry systems. Crystallography uses methods like X-ray diffraction to determine the internal structures and bonding of minerals and molecules.342
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alkali metalPhysical properties…pattern of atoms in their crystals), with eight nearest neighbours to each atom. The closest distance between atoms, a characteristic property of crystals, increases with increasing atomic weight of the alkali metal atoms. As a group, the alkali metals have a looser crystallographic arrangement than any of the other metallic…
Read More…pattern of atoms in their crystals), with eight nearest neighbours to each atom. The closest distance between atoms, a characteristic property of crystals, increases with increasing atomic weight of the alkali metal atoms. As a group, the alkali metals have a looser crystallographic arrangement than any of the other metallic…
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iceThe ice crystal…so, they migrate within the lattice, more rapidly at higher temperatures. Sometimes they do not reach the usual arrangement of two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds to each oxygen atom, so that some oxygen atoms have only one or as many as three hydrogen bonds. Such oxygen atoms become…
Read More…so, they migrate within the lattice, more rapidly at higher temperatures. Sometimes they do not reach the usual arrangement of two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds to each oxygen atom, so that some oxygen atoms have only one or as many as three hydrogen bonds. Such oxygen atoms become…
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steelThe base metal: iron…is, it consists of many crystals that join one another on their boundaries. A crystal is a well-ordered arrangement of atoms that can best be pictured as spheres touching one another. They are ordered in planes, called lattices, which penetrate one another in specific ways. For iron, the lattice arrangement…
Read More…is, it consists of many crystals that join one another on their boundaries. A crystal is a well-ordered arrangement of atoms that can best be pictured as spheres touching one another. They are ordered in planes, called lattices, which penetrate one another in specific ways. For iron, the lattice arrangement…
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hydrogenReactivity of hydrogen…in many cases, the metallic crystal lattice merely expands to accommodate the dissolved hydrogen without any other change.
Read More…in many cases, the metallic crystal lattice merely expands to accommodate the dissolved hydrogen without any other change.
Read More- spectroscopyX-ray detectors
Semiconductor crystals such as silicon or germanium are used as X-ray detectors in the range from 1,000 electron volts (1 keV) to more than 1 MeV. An X-ray photon absorbed by the material excites a number of electrons from its valence band to the conduction band.…
Read MoreSemiconductor crystals such as silicon or germanium are used as X-ray detectors in the range from 1,000 electron volts (1 keV) to more than 1 MeV. An X-ray photon absorbed by the material excites a number of electrons from its valence band to the conduction band.…
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radiation measurementSemiconductor detectors…to specific sites in the crystalline lattice and are said to have an energy in the valence band. At any given time, a few electrons will have gained sufficient thermal energy to have broken loose from localized sites and are called conduction electrons; their energy lies in a higher conduction…
Read More…to specific sites in the crystalline lattice and are said to have an energy in the valence band. At any given time, a few electrons will have gained sufficient thermal energy to have broken loose from localized sites and are called conduction electrons; their energy lies in a higher conduction…
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Bragg law…spacing of atomic planes in crystals and the angles of incidence at which these planes produce the most intense reflections of electromagnetic radiations, such as X-rays and gamma rays, and particle waves, such as those associated with electrons and neutrons. For maximum intensity of reflected wave trains, they must stay…
Read More…spacing of atomic planes in crystals and the angles of incidence at which these planes produce the most intense reflections of electromagnetic radiations, such as X-rays and gamma rays, and particle waves, such as those associated with electrons and neutrons. For maximum intensity of reflected wave trains, they must stay…
Read More- Bravais lattice
…arrangement of atoms in a crystal. Each point represents one or more atoms in the actual crystal, and if the points are connected by lines, a crystal lattice is formed; the lattice is divided into a number of identical blocks, or unit cells, characteristic of the Bravais lattices. The French…
Read More…arrangement of atoms in a crystal. Each point represents one or more atoms in the actual crystal, and if the points are connected by lines, a crystal lattice is formed; the lattice is divided into a number of identical blocks, or unit cells, characteristic of the Bravais lattices. The French…
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Miller indices…connected by lines, the resulting lattice may be divided into a number of identical blocks, or unit cells; the intersecting edges of one of the unit cells define a set of crystallographic axes, and the Miller indices are determined by the intersection of the plane with these axes. The reciprocals…
Read More…connected by lines, the resulting lattice may be divided into a number of identical blocks, or unit cells; the intersecting edges of one of the unit cells define a set of crystallographic axes, and the Miller indices are determined by the intersection of the plane with these axes. The reciprocals…
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Mössbauer effectApplications…broadly into the categories of lattice dynamics and hyperfine interactions, although contributions have been made in other areas. The probability that a gamma-ray emission process will be recoil free depends on the amplitude of the thermal vibrations compared to the wavelength of the gamma ray. A measurement of the fraction…
Read More…broadly into the categories of lattice dynamics and hyperfine interactions, although contributions have been made in other areas. The probability that a gamma-ray emission process will be recoil free depends on the amplitude of the thermal vibrations compared to the wavelength of the gamma ray. A measurement of the fraction…
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magnetic resonanceElectron-spin resonance…on the effect of the crystal lattice on the magnetic centre under study. The effect of the crystal field, particularly if it has little symmetry, is to reduce the magnetism caused by orbital motion. To some extent the orbital magnetism is preserved against ligand fields of low symmetry by the…
Read More…on the effect of the crystal lattice on the magnetic centre under study. The effect of the crystal field, particularly if it has little symmetry, is to reduce the magnetism caused by orbital motion. To some extent the orbital magnetism is preserved against ligand fields of low symmetry by the…
Read More- electricityPiezoelectricity
…displacements of ions in the crystal lattice. Such an effect is not found in crystals with a centre of symmetry. The direct effect can be quite strong; a potential V = Yedδ/ε0K is generated in a crystal compressed by an amount δ, where K is the dielectric constant. If lead…
Read More…displacements of ions in the crystal lattice. Such an effect is not found in crystals with a centre of symmetry. The direct effect can be quite strong; a potential V = Yedδ/ε0K is generated in a crystal compressed by an amount δ, where K is the dielectric constant. If lead…
Read More - radiationCrystal-lattice effects
In neutron irradiation of a solid, atoms are dislodged from normal lattice positions and set in motion (the Wigner effect). The fractional amount of energy transfer depends, as in any elastic collision, on the mass ratio of the neutron to that of the…
Read MoreIn neutron irradiation of a solid, atoms are dislodged from normal lattice positions and set in motion (the Wigner effect). The fractional amount of energy transfer depends, as in any elastic collision, on the mass ratio of the neutron to that of the…
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symmetrycrystallography, fundamental property of the orderly arrangements of atoms found in crystalline solids. Each arrangement of atoms has a certain number of elements of symmetry; i.e., changes in the orientation of the arrangement of atoms seem to leave the atoms unmoved. One such element of…
Read Morecrystallography, fundamental property of the orderly arrangements of atoms found in crystalline solids. Each arrangement of atoms has a certain number of elements of symmetry; i.e., changes in the orientation of the arrangement of atoms seem to leave the atoms unmoved. One such element of…
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hexagonal system…structures to which a given crystalline solid can be assigned. Components of crystals in this system are located by reference to four axes—three of equal length set at 120° to one another and a fourth axis perpendicular to the plane of the other three. If the atoms or atomic groups…
Read More…structures to which a given crystalline solid can be assigned. Components of crystals in this system are located by reference to four axes—three of equal length set at 120° to one another and a fourth axis perpendicular to the plane of the other three. If the atoms or atomic groups…
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isometric system>crystal systems to which a given crystalline solid can be assigned. Crystals in this system are referred to three mutually perpendicular axes of equal lengths. If the atoms or atom groups in the solid are represented by points and the points are connected, the resulting…
Read More>crystal systems to which a given crystalline solid can be assigned. Crystals in this system are referred to three mutually perpendicular axes of equal lengths. If the atoms or atom groups in the solid are represented by points and the points are connected, the resulting…
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monoclinic system…the structural categories to which crystalline solids can be assigned. Crystals in this system are referred to three axes of unequal lengths—say, a, b, and c—of which a is perpendicular to b and c, but b and c are not perpendicular to each other.
Read More…the structural categories to which crystalline solids can be assigned. Crystals in this system are referred to three axes of unequal lengths—say, a, b, and c—of which a is perpendicular to b and c, but b and c are not perpendicular to each other.
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orthorhombic system…structural categories systems to which crystalline solids can be assigned. Crystals in this system are referred to three mutually perpendicular axes that are unequal in length.
Read More…structural categories systems to which crystalline solids can be assigned. Crystals in this system are referred to three mutually perpendicular axes that are unequal in length.
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triclinic system…the structural categories to which crystalline solids can be assigned. Crystals in this system are referred to three axes of unequal lengths that are inclined at nonorthogonal (nonperpendicular) angles relative to each other.
Read More…the structural categories to which crystalline solids can be assigned. Crystals in this system are referred to three axes of unequal lengths that are inclined at nonorthogonal (nonperpendicular) angles relative to each other.
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trigonal system…the structural categories to which crystalline solids can be assigned. The trigonal system is sometimes considered to be a subdivision of the hexagonal system.
Read More…the structural categories to which crystalline solids can be assigned. The trigonal system is sometimes considered to be a subdivision of the hexagonal system.
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