GE 201/203

Introduction to Materials Science and

Engineering
Lecture 5: Crystal Geometry
14/08/2019
 Crystal Geometry

1. Crystal
2. Lattice
3. Basis/Motif
4. 7 Crystal Systems
5. 14 Bravais Lattices
6. Miller Indices
 Atomic Packing can broadly be divided into two
categories:

Crystalline Amorphous
Solids Solids
Regular arrangement Random arrangement

Long range periodicity No range periodicity (short-range

order)
 Energy and Packing
Non dense, random packing

Dense, regular packing

Dense-packed regular structure tends to have lower energy

 Point Lattice

Regular arrangement

A translationally periodic arrangement of points is called

a lattice (in specific, point lattice)
 Space Lattice
A 3D translationally periodic arrangement of points in space is called a space lattice

Or

An array of points in space such that every point has identical surroundings is called a
space lattice.

 Lattices are infinite (infinite array)

 Lattices have translational periodicity
 We can have 1D, 2D or 3D arrays (lattice)
Which of these is a Point Lattice?
Which of these is a Point Lattice?

Not a point lattice Is a point lattice

Which of these is a Point Lattice?
Which of these is a Point Lattice?

Both are point lattices

Crystal
What is the difference?
What is the relationship between the two?

Crystal = Lattice + Basis (Motif)

Every periodic pattern (including a crystal) has
a lattice associated with it.

Air, Water and Earth by M.C. Escher

Point Lattice
Lattice + Basis = Crystal
 Unit Cell
A region of space which can generate the entire lattice or crystal by
repetition through lattice translations.
Size and shape of Unit Cell in 3D
 Summary
Lattice Parameters

Unit Cell of the crystal

Lattice

Crystal

We will continue this discussion with the classification of lattices into 7 Crystal Systems
and 14 Bravais Lattices.
 Reference Books
1. Materials Science and Engineering A First course - V. Raghavan
2. Introduction to Materials Science and Engineering - W.D. Callister
3. Introduction to Physical Metallurgy – Sidney H. Avner
4. Engineering Materials 1 and 2 - M. F. Ashby & D. R. H. Jones