The Diamond Crystal (Chapter 7, Key Terms & Key Concept) Flashcards
A solid mass of individual, randomly
oriented crystals, intergrown or held together by a
natural binding agent.
Aggregate
Plane parallel to a possible crystal
face, where a diamond can split cleanly when struck.
Cleavage plane
A chemical bond formed by two
atoms sharing electrons.
Covalent bond
Solid matter with atoms arranged in a
regular, repeating pattern
Crystal
Composed of crystals or related to
crystals.
Crystalline
Internal directions parallel to a
mineral’s unit cell surfaces.
Crystal planes
Geometric shape of a
well-formed crystal.
Crystal shape (form)
Regular, repeating
arrangement of atoms in a mineral.
Crystal structure (lattice)
Categories of crystals based on
their symmetry and internal structure.
Crystal systems
The appearance of double images of a
gemstone’s facet junctions on the side opposite the
viewer.
Doubling
Possessing different
physical or optical properties in different crystal
directions.
Doubly refractive (anisotropic)
A well-shaped, transparent, octahedral
diamond crystal with sharp, square edges.
Glassie
Crystal distortion caused during growth
when one part of the lattice is offset in relation to
the res
Glide plane
Visible, shadow-like lines in
a diamond caused by irregularities in the crystal
structure.
Graining (grain lines)
Characteristic crystal shape of a specific
mineral.
Habit
A flat, triangular twinned diamond crystal.
Macle
A form with eight equal triangular faces
Octahedron
Possessing the same
physical or optical properties in all crystal directions.
Singly refractive (isotropic)
Ratio of the weight of a
material to that of an equal volume of water.
Specific gravity (SG)
In diamond, a group of five carbon
atoms with one at the center
Tetrahedron