Ch 3 and 4 Flashcards
Short-range order
When the special arrangement of the atoms extends only to the atom’s nearest neighbours (molecules have no special arrangement with respect to each other’s position)
Long-range order
When the special atomic arrangement extends over length scales greater than/equal 10 nm
Crystalline materials
When atoms are arranged in a regular repetitive, grid-like pattern
Polycrystalline material
Composed of many small crystals with varying orientations in space
Grain boundaries
The borders between crystals
Liquid crystals
Polymeric materials that have a special type of order
Amorphous material
A solid that exhibits only a short-ranger order (that is, a noncrystalline solid)
What type of material are glasses?
Amorphous
Unit cell
A subdivision of the lattice that still retains the overall characteristics of the entire lattice
A lattice
A collection of points, called lattice points, which are arranged in a periodic pattern so the surroundings of each point in the lattice are identical
Basis or motif
A group of atoms located in a particular way with respect to each other and associated with a lattice point
How we obtain a crystal structure
By placing the atoms of the basis on every lattice point (ie, crystal structure = lattice + basis)
Lattice parameters
The lengths of the sides of the unit cell and the angles between those sides
Close-packed directions
Directions in a crystal along which atoms are in contact
Coordination number
Number of atoms touching a particular atom
Coordination number in SC structure
6
Coordination number in BCC structure
8
Coordination number in FCC structure
12
Packing factor
Fraction of space occupied by atoms - (number of atoms per cell times volume of each atom)/volume of unit cell
Close-packed structure
Structure showing a packing fraction of 0.74 (FCC and HCP)
Allotropy
The characteristic of an element being able to exist in more than one crystal structure, depending on temperature and pressure
Polymorphism
Compounds exhibiting more than one type of crystal structure, depending on temperature and pressure
Anisotropic
Material properties can vary with direction
Isotopic
Material’s properties are identical in all directions