
What is the meaning of crystalline structure? A crystalline structure is any structure of ions, molecules, or atoms that are held together in an ordered, three-dimensional arrangement. Crystalline structure is one of two types of structural ordering of atoms, the other being the amorphous structure.
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What is a definite crystalline structure?
A crystalline structure is any structure of ions, molecules, or atoms that are held together in an ordered, three-dimensional arrangement. Crystalline structure is one of two types of structural ordering of atoms, the other being the amorphous structure. The key difference in the crystalline and amorphous structure is the ordering of the structure.
What are different types of crystalline structures?
Different types of crystal structures: There are four crystal structure types as given below: Simple Cubic Crystal Structure (SC) Body-Centered Crystal Structure (BCC) Face Centered Crystal Structure (FCC) Hexagonal close packed structure (HCP) Read About: 5 Best reference books for metallurgy. 1.
What are the crystaline structures?
Crystalline Structure A crystalline material consists of primarily organized crystal structure. A crystal is: a solid composed of atoms, ions, or molecules arranged in a pattern that is repetitive in three-dimensions. Each crystal structure within a specific crystal system is defined by a unit cell.
What are the types of crystal structure?
What are the 4 crystal structures?
- Simple Cubic Structure.
- Body-Centered Cubic Structure.
- Hexagonal Close-Packed and Cubic Close-Packed Structures.

How to describe crystal structure?
Crystal structure is described in terms of the geometry of arrangement of particles in the unit cell. The unit cell is defined as the smallest repeating unit having the full symmetry of the crystal structure. The geometry of the unit cell is defined as a parallelepiped, providing six lattice parameters taken as the lengths of the cell edges ( a, b, c) and the angles between them (α, β, γ). The positions of particles inside the unit cell are described by the fractional coordinates ( xi, yi, zi) along the cell edges, measured from a reference point. It is only necessary to report the coordinates of a smallest asymmetric subset of particles. This group of particles may be chosen so that it occupies the smallest physical space, which means that not all particles need to be physically located inside the boundaries given by the lattice parameters. All other particles of the unit cell are generated by the symmetry operations that characterize the symmetry of the unit cell. The collection of symmetry operations of the unit cell is expressed formally as the space group of the crystal structure.
What is the crystal structure of sodium chloride?
Crystal structure of sodium chloride (table salt) In crystallography, crystal structure is a description of the ordered arrangement of atoms, ions or molecules in a crystalline material.
What are the lengths of the principal axes of the unit cell called?
The lengths of the principal axes, or edges, of the unit cell and the angles between them are the lattice constants , also called lattice parameters or cell parameters. The symmetry properties of the crystal are described by the concept of space groups. All possible symmetric arrangements of particles in three-dimensional space may be described by the 230 space groups .
What is the Miller index notation for crystal lattice?
Vectors and planes in a crystal lattice are described by the three-value Miller index notation. This syntax uses the indices ℓ, m, and n as directional parameters.
Which group of particles in the material constitutes this repeating pattern?
The smallest group of particles in the material that constitutes this repeating pattern is the unit cell of the structure. The unit cell completely reflects the symmetry and structure of the entire crystal, which is built up by repetitive translation of the unit cell along its principal axes. The translation vectors define the nodes of the Bravais lattice .
What are crystallographic directions?
The crystallographic directions are geometric lines linking nodes ( atoms, ions or molecules) of a crystal. Likewise, the crystallographic planes are geometric planes linking nodes. Some directions and planes have a higher density of nodes.
Does a ferroelectric crystal have polarization?
This is analogous to ferromagnetism, in that, in the absence of an electric field during production, the ferroelectric crystal does not exhibit a polarization . Upon the application of an electric field of sufficient magnitude, the crystal becomes permanently polarized. This polarization can be reversed by a sufficiently large counter-charge, in the same way that a ferromagnet can be reversed. However, although they are called ferroelectrics, the effect is due to the crystal structure (not the presence of a ferrous metal).
What Does Crystalline Mean?
Crystalline is an adjective that describes the periodic translational ordering of atoms or molecules within a solid. The atoms or molecules form a three-dimensional arrangement within a single repeating unit called a unit cell. The unit cell structure repeats in all directions at regular spacing, filling a regular three-dimensional grid called a lattice. A high degree of this ordering, or crystallinity, is the property required for a solid to be classified as a crystal.
What is crystallinity in solids?
A high degree of this ordering, or crystallinity, is the property required for a solid to be classified as a crystal. Crystalline solids can be of the following types, depending on the nature of bonding between unit cells within the lattice: The degree of crystallinity of a solid affects properties of the solid such as its density, hardness, ...
How are lattices determined?
The lattice structure, unit cell and unit cell contents and composition are determined through a diffraction experiment, usually using X-rays, but neutron diffraction is used in certain cases.
How to understand crystallinity?
Understanding the property of crystallinity starts from understanding the basic properties of a lattice. Lattices can exist in any dimension. A one-dimensional lattice is most easily explained as a line of dots spaced out in equal distances. One unit cell is the space between two dots.
What is the name of the structure of a cell that repeats in all directions?
The atoms or molecules form a three-dimensional arrangement within a single repeating unit called a unit cell. The unit cell structure repeats in all directions at regular spacing, filling a regular three-dimensional grid called a lattice.
Why is crystallization important?
Crystalline states are extremely useful when studying a material's structure and looking for defects and dislocations within the crystalline state or to understand the desired properties of the material such as band gaps in semiconductors and electrical conductivity in other materials.
Is glass a crystalline solid?
Although crystals are often associated with transparency, non-crystalline (amorphous) solids such as glass can also be crystalline. To the contrary, although a piece of metal does not look like a crystal, it may in fact be in a crystalline state.
Examples of crystalline in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web Cancun's beaches offer a quintessential image: soft, sun-bleached white sand that extends into the gently lapping, crystalline sea. — Meagan Drillinger, Travel + Leisure, 6 Jan.
History and Etymology for crystalline
Middle English cristallin, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin crystallinus, borrowed from Greek krystállinos, from krýstallos "clear ice, crystal entry 1 " + -inos -ine entry 1
Overview
In crystallography, crystal structure is a description of the ordered arrangement of atoms, ions or molecules in a crystalline material. Ordered structures occur from the intrinsic nature of the constituent particles to form symmetric patterns that repeat along the principal directions of three-dimensional space in matter.
The smallest group of particles in the material that constitutes this repeating p…
Unit cell
Crystal structure is described in terms of the geometry of arrangement of particles in the unit cells. The unit cell is defined as the smallest repeating unit having the full symmetry of the crystal structure. The geometry of the unit cell is defined as a parallelepiped, providing six lattice parameters taken as the lengths of the cell edges (a, b, c) and the angles between them (α, β, γ). The positions …
Classification by symmetry
The defining property of a crystal is its inherent symmetry. Performing certain symmetry operations on the crystal lattice leaves it unchanged. All crystals have translational symmetry in three directions, but some have other symmetry elements as well. For example, rotating the crystal 180° about a certain axis may result in an atomic configuration that is identical to the original configuration; the crystal has twofold rotational symmetry about this axis. In addition to …
Atomic coordination
By considering the arrangement of atoms relative to each other, their coordination numbers, interatomic distances, types of bonding, etc., it is possible to form a general view of the structures and alternative ways of visualizing them.
The principles involved can be understood by considering the most efficient w…
Defects and impurities
Real crystals feature defects or irregularities in the ideal arrangements described above and it is these defects that critically determine many of the electrical and mechanical properties of real materials.
When one atom substitutes for one of the principal atomic components within the crystal structure, alteration in the electrical and thermal properties of the material may ensue. Impuritie…
Prediction of structure
The difficulty of predicting stable crystal structures based on the knowledge of only the chemical composition has long been a stumbling block on the way to fully computational materials design. Now, with more powerful algorithms and high-performance computing, structures of medium complexity can be predicted using such approaches as evolutionary algorithms, random sampling, or metadynamics.
Polymorphism
Polymorphism is the occurrence of multiple crystalline forms of a material. It is found in many crystalline materials including polymers, minerals, and metals. According to Gibbs' rules of phase equilibria, these unique crystalline phases are dependent on intensive variables such as pressure and temperature. Polymorphism is related to allotropy, which refers to elemental solids. The com…
Physical properties
Twenty of the 32 crystal classes are piezoelectric, and crystals belonging to one of these classes (point groups) display piezoelectricity. All piezoelectric classes lack inversion symmetry. Any material develops a dielectric polarization when an electric field is applied, but a substance that has such a natural charge separation even in the absence of a field is called a polar material. Whether or not a material is polar is determined solely by its crystal structure. Only 10 of the 32 …