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rotation axis
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Diagram showing four types of translation-free symmetry in crystals: a sixfold axis of rotation, a fourfold axis of inversion, a center of symmetry, and a mirror plane, each illustrated with a labeled purple crystal shape and explanatory text.
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rotation axis

crystallography
Also known as: axis of rotation
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Diagram showing four types of translation-free symmetry in crystals: a sixfold axis of rotation, a fourfold axis of inversion, a center of symmetry, and a mirror plane, each illustrated with a labeled purple crystal shape and explanatory text.
symmetry elements Translation-free symmetry elements as expressed by the morphology of crystals showing a sixfold axis of rotation, fourfold axis of inversion, centre of symmetry, and mirror/symmetry plane.

A rotation axis in crystallography is an imaginary line through a crystal. If you rotate the crystal around this axis, its overall appearance will repeat itself. This repetition can occur one, two, three, four, or six times during a full 360-degree rotation. For example, a sixfold rotation axis means the crystal looks the same every 60 degrees. These rotation axes, along with other symmetry elements like mirror planes and centers of symmetry, reflect the internal atomic arrangement of a crystal. Crystals are classified into systems based on these symmetry elements.1

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2 Britannica Sources
  1. rotation axis
  2. mineral - Symmetry elements

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