Galeon, Ian Rollorata ES404

EE_3B Assignment #4

1.

Element Specific Structures

Manganese
It has a body-centered cubic (bcc) crystal
structure. All-natural manganese is the
stable isotope manganese-55. It exists in
four allotropic modifications; the complex cubic
structure of the so-called alpha phase is the form
stable at ordinary temperatures.

Gallium The crystal structure of gallium is orthorhombic.

Natural gallium consists of a mixture of two
stable isotopes: gallium-69 (60.4 percent) and
gallium-71 (39.6 percent). Gallium has been
considered as a possible heat-exchange medium
in nuclear reactors, although it has a
high neutron-capture cross section.

Tin

β-tin, the metallic form or white tin, has BCT

(body-centered tetragonal) structure and is
stable at and above room temperature and is
malleable. α-tin, the nonmetallic form or gray tin,
is stable below 13.2 °C (55.8 °F) and is brittle. It
has a diamond cubic crystal structure, similar
 to diamond, silicon or germanium. α-tin has no
metallic properties, because its atoms form
a covalent structure in which electrons cannot
move freely.

It is a silvery-white, highly ductile post-transition
Indium metal with a bright luster; soft it can be cut with a
knife. It also leaves a visible line on paper.
Like tin, a high-pitched cry is heard when indium
is bent – a crackling sound due to crystal
twinning. Like gallium, indium is able to wet glass.
Like both, indium has a low melting point. Indium
crystallizes in the body-centered tetragonal
crystal system.

Mercury

Mercury appears as an odorless, silvery metallic

liquid. Insoluble in water. Toxic by ingestion,
absorption and inhalation of the fumes. Corrosive
to aluminum. Used as a catalyst in instruments,
boilers, mirror coatings. It has a rhombohedral
crystal structure.

2.

Isotropic Anisotropic

Aluminum is isotropic for it has the same
strength and exhibits same material properties in
all directions. They are also heavier because of
their greater density.
Tungsten is a cubic metal with stiffness tensor
coefficients that exist in the proper ratio to allow
for mechanical isotropy. Nearly all single crystal
systems are anisotropic with respect to
mechanical properties, except this is a notable
exception.
Ceramics are usually composed of randomly
oriented grains and intergranular phases, so their
properties are the statistical average along each
direction and show isotropy corresponding to the
uniform microstructures.
Wood is an example of an anisotropic material
since it contains structural elements of varying
stiffness and strength (cells of which it is
constructed are non-uniform).
Ice crystals in glaciers and ice sheets have
hexagonal crystallographic symmetry, and are
mechanically anisotropic. These develop due to
the total strain experienced by the ice under
different anisotropic stress configurations.
Silicon has a regular crystal structure, which is
one of the reasons it is such an excellent
engineering material. It is an anisotropic crystal,
so its properties are different in different
directions in the material relative to the crystal
orientation.