Crystallography

Symmetry

Transformation
Reflection of internal structure
Definition by Aristotle
Practical definition by Zoltai & Stout
Regularity observed in the arrangement
 Symmetry
The symmetry of an entity is the relationship
between its parts. It is a reflection of internal
structure. If a crystal has symmetry, the
symmetry is common to all of its properties.
Consequently, by studying physical properties
to determine crystal symmetry,
crystallographers can make inferences about
internal atomic order.
 Elements of symmetry
• Axis of symmetry
• Plane of symmetry
• Centre of symmetry
 Axis of symmetry
• Line
• Passing through the centre of the crystal
• Rotation is to carried out
• Transformation takes place for more than one
type of complete rotation
 Axis of symmetry
It is an imaginary line passing through the
centre of a crystal, so that a crystal assumes a
congruent position in space for more than one
time in complete rotation.
 Types of Axes of Rotation
• 2-fold
• 3-fold
• 4-fold
• 6-fold
 Possibility of Axis of Symmetry
Following axes are not considered as axes of
symmetry:
1-fold
5-fold
Higher than 6-fold
 Plane of Symmetry

• Plane
• Passing through the centre
• Division into two halves
• Mirror image
 Plane of Symmetry
It is an imaginary plane passing through the
centre, such that it divides the object into two
halves, each half is the mirror image of the
other one.
 Centre of Symmetry
• Point
• Inversion
 Centre of Symmetry
A crystal has a centre of symmetry when like
faces, edges, etc., are arranged in pairs in
corresponding positions and on opposite sides
of a central point.
 Symmetry operation
• Physical
• Imaginative
• Repetition
 Symmetry Operation
It is an operation that can be performed either
physically or imaginatively so that there is no
change in the appearance of a crystal.
 Types of Symmetry Operations
• Two Dimensions
• Three Dimensions
 2-D Symmetry Operations
• Translation
• Rotation
• Reflection
 3-D Symmetry Operations
• Translation
• Rotation
• Reflection
• Inversion
Types of 3-D Symmetry Operations
• Simple
• Composite
 Crystal Notation
• Crystallographic Axes
• Crystal Systems
• Axial Ratio
• Parameters
• Indices
• Form
• Zone
• Crystal Habit
 Crystallographic Axes
• Lines
• Passing through centre
• Axes of reference
• Taken parallel to the intersection edges
• Three in number
Xalographic Axes
 Crystal System
• Cubic
• Tetragonal
• Orthorhombic
• Monoclinic
• Triclinic
• Hexagonal
Cubic System
Tetragonal system
Orthorhombic System
Monoclinic System
Triclinic System
Hexagonal System

-C
Axial Ratio
Parameters
Indices
 Form
• A set of crystal faces
• Related to each other by symmetry
• To designate a crystal form (which could imply
many faces) we use the Miller Index, or Miller-
Bravais Index notation enclosing the indices in
curly braces.
• {hkl} or {hkil}
 Types of Crystal Forms
• Isometric
• Non-isometric
 Types of Crystal Forms
• Open
• Closed
 Non-isometric Crystal Forms
Monohedron:
The monohedral crystal form is also called
a pedion. It consists of a single face which is
geometrically unique for the crystal and is not
repeated by any set of symmetry operations.
Members of the triclinic crystal system
produce monohedral crystal forms.
 Parallelohedron
The parallelohedral crystal form is also called
a pinacoid. It consists of two and only two
geometrically equivalent faces which occupy
opposite sides of a crystal. The two faces are
parallel and are related to one another only by
a reflection or an inversion. Members of the
triclinic crystal system produce parallelohedral
crystal forms.
 Dihedron
The dihedron consists of two and only two
nonparallel geometrically equivalent faces.
The two faces may be related by a reflection
or by a rotation. The dihedron is termed
a dome if the two faces are related only by
reflection across a mirror plane. If the two
faces are related instead by a 2-fold rotation
axis then the dihedron is termed a sphenoid.
Members of the monoclinic crystal system
produce dihedral crystal forms.
 Disphenoid
Members of the orthorhombic and tetragonal
crystal systems produce rhombic and
tetragonal disphenoids, which possess two
sets of nonparallel geometrically equivalent
faces, each of which is related by a 2-fold
rotation. The faces of the upper sphenoid
alternate with the faces of the lower sphenoid
in such forms.
 Prism
A prism is composed of a set of 3, 4, 6, 8, or 12
geometrically equivalent faces which are all parallel to the
same axis. Each of these faces intersects with the two faces
adjacent to it to produce a set of parallel edges. The
mutually parallel edges of all intersections of the prism
sides then form a tube. Prisms are given names based on
the shape of their cross section. Variants of the prism form
include the rhombic prism, tetragonal prism, trigonal prism,
and hexagonal prism. A prism in which the large faces are
divided into two mirror-image faces which intersect with
one another at an oblique angle is called a ditetragonal
prism, a ditrigonal prism, or a dihexagonal prism. Prisms
are associated with the members of the monoclinic crystal
system.
 Pyramid
A pyramid is composed of a set of 3, 4, 6, 8, or 12 faces
which are not parallel but instead intersect at a point.
The orthorhombic, tetragonal and hexagonal crystal
systems all produce pyramids. These pyramids are
named according to the shape of their cross-section in
the same way that prisms are. Thus are produced the
rhombic pyramid, tetragonal pyramid, trigonal
pyramid, and hexagonal pyramid. Each large face of the
ditetragonal pyramid, ditrigonal pyramid, and
dihexagonal pyramids is divided into two mirror-image
faces which occupy an oblique angle with respect to
one another.
 Dipyramid
The dipyramidal crystal form is composed of two pyramids
placed base-to-base and related by reflection across a
mirror plane which runs parallel to and adjacent to the
pyramid bases. The upper and lower pyramids may each
have 3, 4, 6, 8, or 12 faces; the dipyramidal form therefore
possesses a total of 6, 8, 12, 16, or 24 faces. The
orthorhombic, tetragonal and hexagonal crystal systems all
produce dipyramids. These dipyramids are named for the
shape of their cross-section just as prisms and pyramids
are, resulting in the rhombic dipyramid, trigonal dipyramid,
tetragonal dipyramid, and hexagonal dipyramid. The large
faces of the ditetragonal, ditrigonal and dihexagonal
dipyramids are divided into two mirror-image faces which
intersect one another at an oblique angle.
 Trapezohedron
A trapezohedron is a crystal form possessing 6, 8,
or 12 trapezoidal faces. The tetragonal crystal
system and both the trigonal and hexagonal
divisions of the hexagonal crystal system produce
trapezohedral crystal forms. Trigonal
trapezohedra possess three trapezoidal faces on
the top and three on the bottom for a total of six
faces; tetragonal trapezohedra have four faces on
top and four on the bottom for a total of eight
faces; and hexagonal trapezohedra have six faces
on top and six on the bottom, resulting in twelve
faces total.
 Scalenohedron
A scalenohedron consists of 8 or 12 faces,
each of which is a scalene triangle. The faces
appear to be grouped into symmetric pairs.
The tetragonal and hexagonal crystal systems
produce the scalenohedral crystal form, of
which examples may be further described as
trigonal, tetragonal and hexagonal
scalenohedra.
 Rhombohedron
The rhombohedral crystal form possesses six
rhombus-shaped faces. A rhombohedron
resembles in appearance a cube which is
poised upright upon one corner and has been
either flattened or elongated along an axis
which runs diagonally from corner to corner
through the center. The rhombohedral crystal
form is produced only by members of the
trigonal and rhombohedral divisions of the
hexagonal crystal system.
 Cube
The cube is composed of 6 square faces at 90
degree angles to each other. Each face
intersects one of the crystallographic axes and
is parallel to the other two This form, {001}, is
one of the easiest to recognize and many
minerals display it with little modification.
 Octahedron
The octahedron is a form composed of 8
equilateral triangles. These triangle-shaped
faces intersect all 3 crystallographic axes at
the same distance, thus the form notation of
{111}.
 Dodecahedron
This form is composed of 12 rhomb-shaped
faces. Each of these rhomb-shaped faces
intersects two of the axes at equidistance and
is parallel to the 3rd axis, thus the notation
{011}.
 Tetrahexahedron
This form has 24 isoceles triangular faces. The
easiest way to understand its shape is to envision
a cube that on each face has 4 equal-sized
triangular faces that have been raised from the
center of the cube face. Each triangular face has
its base attached to the edge of the cube and the
apex of the two equal-length sides rises to meet
the 4-fold axis. Because of the variation of
inclination to this axis, there exists a number of
possible tetrahexahedral forms, but all meet the
general notation of {0hl}.
 Trapezohedron
It has 24 similar trapezium-
shaped faces. Each of these faces intersects a
crystallographic axis at a unit distance and the
other two axes at equal distances, but those
intersections must be greater than the unit
distance. Because there may be various
intercepts distances on the two axes, the form
symbol {hhl} in general is used. The most
common mineral form is {112}.
 Trisoctahedron
This is another 24-faced form, but the faces
are isosceles triangles. Each face intersects
two crystallographic axes at unity, and the
third axes at some multiple of unity; hence the
form notation in general of {hll}.
 Hexaoctahedron
This form has 48 triangular faces, 6 faces
appearing to be raised from each face of a
simple octahedron. These may be envisioned
by drawing a line from the center of each of
the 3 edges of an octahedral face, through the
face center to the opposite corner. Repeat this
for the remaining 7 faces of an octahedron
and you have a hexaoctahedron
 Tetrahedron
A tetrahedron is a 4-faced form, each face
being an equilateral triangle. Each face
intersects all 3 crystallographic axes at the
same distance.
 Tristetrahedron
This form has 12 triangular faces.
 Hexatetrahedron
This form has 24 triangular faces.
 Deltoid dodecahedron
This is a 12-faced form, derived by raising 3 4-
sided faces on the each face of a tetrahedron
Gyroid
Pyritohedron
Diploid
Tetartoid