CUBE ROOMS

Unit Cells & 3D Lattice Geometry

The Micro-Dimension

If you could shrink down and walk through a crystal of salt, what would the "rooms" look like?

The Unit Cell:

The smallest repeating unit of a crystal lattice that shows the full symmetry of the structure.

Atoms only at the 8 corners.

Example: Polonium

8 corners + 1 atom in the dead center.

Example: Iron (Fe)

8 corners + 6 atoms on each face center.

Example: Copper, Gold

In crystallography, we use Fractional Coordinates (x, y, z) where the cube length is defined as 1 unit.

(0,0,0)

Z

Y

The shape of the unit cell and how many atoms are packed inside directly determines the material's density, strength, and melting point.

Strength

Density

Thermal