Introduction to Crystrallography

Crystallography is the study of crystals

• All matter is made of atoms
• Atoms form aggregates of molecules
• Molecules will either be in form of minerals (a
mineral is a crystalline substance); mineraloids
(no-crystalline mineral); liquids; gases and
aerosols.
• All substances will fall under one of these
categories.
 Crystal sytems
• There are Seven crystal systems
• 1. Cubic
• 2. Tetragonal
• 3. Hexagonal
• 4. Trigonal
• 5. Orthorhombic
• 6. Monoclinic
• 7. Triclinic
 Cubic crystal system
• In cubic system the
angles , , and  are all
at 90 degrees
• The axis lengths a, b, c
are equal.
• By virtue of this
symmetry, light travels
at the same speed in all
directions of the crystal
Examples of cubic system
 The tetragonal system
• In this system the
angles , , and  are all
at 90 degrees
• But the axis lengths
a=b c.
• C-length is longer or
shorter than a and b.
• Light travels with two
speeds in the crystal
 The hexagonal system
• In this system the angles
=  at 90 and  =120
degrees.
• But the axis lengths a=b
c. a and b are at 90
degress to c, but a and b
are at 120 to each other
• C-length is longer or
shorter than a and b.
• Light travels with two
speeds in the crystal
 Trigonal system
• In this system the
angles = =90, and 
=120; in this case its
identical to hexagonal,
then the axis lengths
a=b c
• When = =  , it’s the
primitive trigonal and
called rhombohedral
the axis lengths a=b= c
 orthorhombic
• In this system, abc
• All the angles are
different
• Light travels with three
different speeds in the
crystal
 Monoclinic
• In this system, abc
• All the angles are
different
• Light travels with three
different speeds in the
crystal
• =  at 90 and  90
Monoclinic system
Triclinic