The Physics Of A Crystal :: essays research papers

The natural philosophy of a vitreous silica Most simple chemical compounds consist of crystals. If you were to come across a lump of cryst in alline material very closely, you would be qualified to see tiny individual crystals. All crystals have a explicit geometric shape, determined by the way the atoms be linked together. Mineralogists take in 32 different classes of crystal, which are grouped into seven crystal systems. Crystal systems are described by their axis, which are imaginary lines that join the heart of fence faces of a crystal. For example, if a cubic crystal has three sets of opposing faces, it has three axes. They are all of equal length and are all at right angles to each other. Cubic crystals are described as being isometric, but not all isometric crystals are battleground cubes. If the corners of a cube are cut off, the result is a polyhedron with half a dozen octagonal faced and eight triangular ones.Aside from the isometric system, thither is to a faul t a tetragonal, orthorhombic, monoclinic, triclinic and hexagonal system. Crystals may form when a solution of a substance evaporates. Crystals may also form when a vapor or molten substance solidifies. Allotropes are different forms of the uniform element. For Example, oxygen has two allotropes, normal oxygen and ozone. Pure degree centigrade also has two allotropes, diamond and graphite. A crystal of diamond is in fact a single giant molecule in which every carbon atom is linked to four other, by four equal, strong bonds. These bonds are arranged tetrahedrally round each atom and there are no planes along which the giant molecule can easily be split. This feature is what gives diamond its tremendous hardness.