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| Crystal System | Centering | Vector Constraints | Angle Constraints |
|---|---|---|---|
| Triclinic | P | no constraints | any not of higher symmetries |
| Monoclinic | P,C | no constraints | alpha = gamma = 90 ≠ beta |
| Orthorhombic | P,C,F,I | a ≠ b ≠ c | alpha = beta = gamma = 90 |
| Tetragonal | P,I | a = b ≠ c | alpha = beta = gamma = 90 |
| Trigonal | P | a = b = c | alpha = beta = gamma ≠ 90 |
| Hexagonal | P | a = b, c | alpha = beta = 90, gamma = 120 |
| Cubic | P,F,I | a = b = c | alpha = beta = gamma = 90 |
Centering Types:
Synonyms:
Combinations for grid centre:
bravais fcc | antiview -v bMake a spherical section of BCC with struts from centre to vertex
bravais bcc -c s -r 4 -s 3,2 | antiviewMake the Voronoi cells of a lattice
bravais bcc -g 3 -D c | antiviewAdd the Voronoi cells to a lattice
bravais bcc -g 3 -D a | antiview -v 0.1Make the dual of a lattice
bravais bcc -d c | antiview -v bMake a triclinic lattice, include the cell grid
bravais triclinic -a 60,70,80 -v 1,1.5,2 -u | antiview
Definition of a Bravais Lattice: (partly from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bravais_lattice )
In geometry and crystallography, a Bravais lattice, named after Auguste Bravais, is an infinite set of points generated by a set of discrete translation operations. A crystal is made up of one or more atoms (the basis) which is repeated at each lattice point. The crystal then looks the same when viewed from any of the lattice points. In all, there are 14 possible Bravais lattices that fill three-dimensional space.
August Bravais (1811-1863), a French naval officer, adventurer, and physicist taught a course in applied mathematics for astronomy in the faculty of sciences in Lyon from 1840. He served as the Chair of Physics, Ecole Polytechnique between 1845 and 1856. He is best remembered for pointing out in 1845, that there are 14 unique Bravais lattices in three dimensional crystalline systems, adjusting the previously result (15 lattices) by Moritz Ludwig Frankenheim obtained three years before.
A German Crystallographer, Frankenheim (1801-1869) is noted as the first to enumerate the 32 crystal classes. And he also solved the symmetry systems of the 7 crystal systems but this work went completely unnoticed at the time.
There is a bit of mystery surrounding what Frankenheim had as the 15th lattice. Even today, in some texts the Hexagonal lattice with two interior points is shown in the Trigonal class. But these two lattices use the same set of points and it is thought that it was this duplication that was eliminated by Bravais. However, in Bravais' paper, there is no mention of Frankenheim or the enumeration of lattices he presented.
In this program, the Hexagonal cells and Trigonal cells can be seen together by using the -R parameter.
Note that End Centered Cubic (would be Cubic C) does not exist but can be produced by Tetragonal P that has cells of dimensions a,b,c = 1,1,sqrt(2)
Face Centered Cubic (Cubic F or FCC) is duplicated in Body Centered Tetragonal (Tetragonal I) of dimensions a,b,c = 1,1,sqrt(2). However, the FCC embodied would be of higher symmetry than the Tetragonal crystal system is allowed.
Similarly, Trigonal at 90 degrees (improper) is SC. Trigonal at 60 degrees is FCC and Trigonal at acos(-1/3) or 109.47122063449... degrees is BCC.
Also there is no provision for Face Centered Tetragonal (would be Tetragonal F) or Base Centered Tetragonal (would be Tetragonal C). These would be embodied in Body Centered Tetragonal (Tetragonal I) and Simple Tetragonal (Tetragonal P) respectively. This is true at any proportion other than a,b,c = 1,1,sqrt(2)
In Hexagonal, Orthorhombic C can be seen to occur. When Hexagonal of a=b=c is produced, then Base Centered Tetragonal (would be Tetragonal C) occurs.
Bravais lattices will fall into the following symmetries
| Crystal System | Possible Symmetries† |
|---|---|
| Triclinic | C1 Ci |
| Monoclinic | C2 Cs C2h |
| Orthorhombic | D2 C2v D2h |
| Tetragonal | C4 S4 C4h D4 C4v D2d D4h |
| Trigonal | C3 S6 D3 C3v D3d |
| Hexagonal | C6 C3h C6h D6 C6v D3h D6h |
| Cubic | T Th O Td Oh |
Of the symbols used for cell centering:
The term Isometric is sometimes used for Cubic. Also allowable in this program.
Monoclinic is defined in this program with angles alpha = gamma = 90 ≠ beta as is found in the first volume of International Tables for Crystallography.
Rhombohedral cells are a special case of the trigonal class and can be seen by using the -R parameter
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