Key Terms: Chapter 3

allotropic Describing elements capable of having more than one crystal

structure
anisotropic Having properties that vary with direction.
atomic packing factor (APF) The fraction of space in a unit cell filled by
spherical atoms.
basal plane The top or bottom plane in a crystal. In hexagonal crystals the basal
plane is defined by the atoms placed on the six corners of hexagons. It is normal
to the c axis.
basis The number of atoms or ions on each lattice position.
body-centered cubic (BCC) A cubic structure in which atoms are located in the
corners of the unit cell plus one in the center of the cubic unit cell.
Bragg's law The defining equation of X-ray diffraction, n =2d sin .
close-packed direction A crystallographic direction in a crystal along which
atoms touch.
close-packed plane A crystallographic plane in a crystal on which each atom
contacts six neighbors.
close-packed structures A crystal of a single atom type in which the spherical
atoms are packed as tightly as possible, giving a coordination number of l2 and
an APF of 0.74. HCP and FCC are close-packed structures.
coordination number The number of nearest neighbors that surround an atom
or ion.
crystal lattice The framework on which atoms ate placed in periodic three-
dimensional structures.
diffraction A specific interaction of radiation with materials. Diffraction appears
as reflections from parallel planes and is governed by Bragg's law.
face-centered cubic (FCC) A cubic crystal in which the atoms or ions are
positioned at each corner and in the center of each of the six faces.
families of directions All the equivalent directions in a crystal, which are all the
permutations of the Miller indices of any direction in the family.
families of planes All the equivalent planes in a crystal, which are all the
permutations of the Miller indices of any plane in the family.
hexagonal close-packed (HCP) A crystal that has a regular hexagonal basal
plane and rectangular side planes normal to the basal plane. Individual atoms or
ions are located at each corner of the basal plane and in the center of the basal
plane, and three more atoms are on the midplane, located over the interstices of
the atoms in the basal plane. Each atom has 12 neighbors that touch, giving an
APF of 0.74.
highest-density plane A crystallographic plane with the largest number of atoms
or ions centered on the plane per unit area.
interstices The regions between atoms that are defined by at least four atoms or
ions. Interstices in crystals are usually tetrahedral or octahedral.
isotropic Characterized by properties that are independent of the direction in
which they are measured.
lattice Three-dimensional space-filling repeating pattern on which atoms or ions
are placed to form a crystal.
lattice parameter The lengths of the unit-cell edges.
lattice point One position in the three-dimensional space-filling repeating pattern
that forms a crystal. One or more atoms or ions are placed at each lattice point.
linear density The number of atoms centered on a crystallographic direction per
unit length.
liquid crystal An anisotropic fluid, usually a melt or solution characterized by
molecular alignment.
Miller indices A shorthand for expressing directions and planes in crystals.
octahedral site A position in a crystal defined by six nearest neighbors.
planar density The number of atoms or ions centered on a crystallographic
plane per unit area of the plane.
polycrystalline Describing a solid, usually isotropic, of joined crystals or grains.
polymorphic Describing compounds capable of more than one crystal structure.
simple cubic (SC) A crystal with cubic symmetry in which the atoms or ions are
located at all eight corner positions.
tetrahedral site A position in a crystal defined by four nearest neighbors.
unit cell The smallest representation of a material. In crystals the unit cell is the
smallest patterned collection of atoms or ions that repeats in space.
volumetric density The number of atoms centered in a unit volume of crystal.
Often the volume considered is the unit cell.