or the six parameters
a,b,c, 
, where a,b,c denote the lengths of the axes, and are the angles opposite
,
,
or between
and ,
and ,
and and .
Unit Cells
We talked a bit already about unit cells, but here's some additional nomenclature concerning unit cells in crystals.
Here's the same figure as presented before, but with additional labels for the axes. The three unit cell axes are labeled a,b and c.
The unit cell can be defined by the three vectors, or the six parameters
a,b,c, , where a,b,c denote the lengths of the axes, and are the angles opposite
,
,
or between
and ,
and ,
and and .
The fractional coordinates x,y,z are measured along the a,b,c axes.
back to index
next topic
previous topic
copyright © Ron Stenkamp stenkamp@u.washington.edu Most recent update 1/7/97