NUMBER OF ATOMS PER UNIT CELL

The number of atoms per unit cell or no. of effective lattice

points per unit cell is the product of the number of atoms per
lattice point and the number of lattice points per unit cell. In
most metals, one atom is located at each lattice point.
 CRYSTAL DENSITY
The true density, , of material (free from defects) can be calculated
knowing its crystal structure.

nA
N A

mass of unit cell

nA
volume of unit cell Vc Vc N A

n = number of atoms in unit cell

A = Atomic Weight of element (g/mol)
Vc = volume of unit cell
Nav = Avogadros number (6.023 x 1023 atoms/mol)

21
 e.g., copper, FCC 4 atoms/cell
n=4
Cu atoms have mass 63.5 g/mol

Vol. of cell = a3 , for FCC a =2R2

Atomic radius of copper = 0.128 nm

nACu 4 x63.5
8.89 x106 gm3
Vc N A

16 2 0.128x10


-9 3
x6.023 x 10

23

= 8.89 Mgm-3 (or 8.89 gcm-3 or 8890 kgm-3)

Handout#3 - 221 22
Whenever you put four (4)
spheres together touching
each other, you've got a
tetrahedral arrangement of
spheres. The space in the
center is called a
tetrahedral site. The
octahedral site is formed
by six spheres. These sites
are also called holes in
some literature, and they
are shown in the diagrams
above.