Symmetry exists in realms from crystals to patterns, in external shapes of living or non-living objects, as well as in the fundamental particles and the physical laws that govern them. In fact, the search for this symmetry is the driving force for the discovery of many fundamental particles and the formulation of many physical laws. While one can not imagine a world which is absolutely symmetrical nor can one a world which is absolutely asymmetrical. These two aspects of nature are intermingled with each other inseparably. This is the basis of the existence of aperiodicity manifested in the liquid crystals and also quasi-crystals also discussed in “Crystallography and the World of Symmetry”.
This book invites you on a systematic tour through the fascinating world of crystals and their symmetries. The reader will gain an understanding of the symmetry of external crystal forms (morphology) and become acquainted with all the symmetry elements needed to classify and describe crystal structures. The book explains the context in a very vivid, non-mathematical way and captivates with clear, high-quality illustrations. Online materials accompany the book; including 3D models the reader can explore on screen to aid in the spatial understanding of the structure of crystals. After reading the book, you will not only know what a space group is and how to read the International Tables for Crystallography, but will also be able to interpret crystallographic specifications in specialist publications. If questions remain, you also have the opportunity to ask the author on the book's website.
Fivefold symmetry is common in flowers, fruits, molecules, logos, and buildings, but it is a forbidden symmetry in the world of crystals. A few years ago, the so-called quasicrystals were discovered displaying fivefold symmetry, and it caused a minirevolution in crystallography. There has been increased awareness of fivefold symmetry in all domains of human interest ever since. The present book brings together authors and ideas on a common theme from mathematics, the sciences, design, and anthropology to history, literature, and the arts. Its 29 chapters are an offering by scientists and humanists from 13 countries to a broad readership of professionals and laypersons about fivefold symmetry and the areas that are being bridged by this unique concept.
As a self-study guide, course primer or teaching aid, Bor- chardt-Ott's Crystallography is the perfect textbook for students and teachers alike. In fact, it can be used by chemists, mineralogists, physicists and geologists. Based on the author's more than 20 years of teaching experience, the book has numerous line drawings designed especially for the text and a large number of exercises - with solutions - at the end of each chapter. The fourth edition of the original German text has been translated into English for an international readership. The heart of the book is firmly fixed in geometrical crystallography. It is from the concept of the space lattice that symmetry operations, Bravais lattices, space groups and point groups are all developed. Molecular symmetry and crystal formsare treated. Much emphasis is placed on the correspondence between point groups and space groups. The sections on crystal chemistry and X-ray diffraction are intended as an introduction to these fields.
'To summarise, Professor Ladd has written a highly engaging text designed to provide the underlying principles of crystal structure determination through X-ray diffraction data. This text would be most appropriate for an early stage postgraduate or researcher interested in learning both the underlying principles of crystallography and gaining some practice with structure-solving software.'Contemporary PhysicsDesigned for those who wish to understand and engage with the principles behind the process of crystal structure determination by X-ray diffraction, this title contains a comprehensive series of chapters, each of which concludes with a set of problems, for which solutions are provided. An ideal resource for senior undergraduates and early-stage postgraduates, The Essence of Crystallography has an accompanying website with programs written for the text, including an interactive simulation of crystal structure determination using prepared intensity data sets.
Crystals are everywhere, from natural crystals (minerals) through the semiconductors and magnetic materials in electronic devices and computers or piezoelectric resonators at the heart of our quartz watches to electro-optical devices. Understanding them in depth is essential both for pure research and for their applications. This book provides a clear, thorough presentation of their symmetry, both at the microscopic space-group level and the macroscopic point-group level. The implications of the symmetry of crystals for their physical properties are then presented, together with their mathematical description in terms of tensors. The conditions on the symmetry of a crystal for a given property to exist then become clear, as does the symmetry of the property. The geometrical representation of tensor quantities or properties is presented, and its use in determining important relationships emphasized. An original feature of this book is that most chapters include exercises with complete solutions. This allows readers to test and improve their understanding of the material. The intended readership includes undergraduate and graduate students in materials science and materials-related aspects of electrical and optical engineering; researchers involved in the investigation of the physical properties of crystals and the design of applications based on crystal properties such as piezoelectricity, electro-optics, optical activity and all those involved in the characterization of the structural properties of materials.
This book provides a clear introduction to topics which are essential to students in a wide range of scientific disciplines but which are otherwise only covered in specialised and mathematically detailed texts. It shows how crystal structures may be built up from simple ideas of atomic packing and co-ordination, it develops the concepts of crystal symmetry, point and space groups by way of two dimensional examples of patterns and tilings, it explains the concept of the reciprocal lattice in simple terms and shows its importance in an understanding of light, X-ray and electron diffraction. Practical examples of the applications of these techniques are described and also the importance of diffraction in the performance of optical instruments. The book is also of value to the general reader since it shows, by biographical and historical references, how the subject has developed and thereby indicates some of the excitement of scientific discovery.
Crystal Symmetries is a timely account of the progress in the most diverse fields of crystallography. It presents a broad overview of the theory of symmetry and contains state of the art reports of its modern directions and applications to crystal physics and crystal properties. Geometry takes a special place in this treatise. Structural aspects of phase transitions, correlation of structure and properties, polytypism, modulated structures, and other topics are discussed. Applications of important techniques, such as X-ray crystallography, biophysical studies, EPR spectroscopy, crystal optics, and nuclear solid state physics, are represented. Contains 30 research and review papers.
*Shortlisted for the 2019 Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize* One of the most fascinating scientific detective stories of the last fifty years, an exciting quest for a new form of matter. “A riveting tale of derring-do” (Nature), this book reads like James Gleick’s Chaos combined with an Indiana Jones adventure. When leading Princeton physicist Paul Steinhardt began working in the 1980s, scientists thought they knew all the conceivable forms of matter. The Second Kind of Impossible is the story of Steinhardt’s thirty-five-year-long quest to challenge conventional wisdom. It begins with a curious geometric pattern that inspires two theoretical physicists to propose a radically new type of matter—one that raises the possibility of new materials with never before seen properties, but that violates laws set in stone for centuries. Steinhardt dubs this new form of matter “quasicrystal.” The rest of the scientific community calls it simply impossible. The Second Kind of Impossible captures Steinhardt’s scientific odyssey as it unfolds over decades, first to prove viability, and then to pursue his wildest conjecture—that nature made quasicrystals long before humans discovered them. Along the way, his team encounters clandestine collectors, corrupt scientists, secret diaries, international smugglers, and KGB agents. Their quest culminates in a daring expedition to a distant corner of the Earth, in pursuit of tiny fragments of a meteorite forged at the birth of the solar system. Steinhardt’s discoveries chart a new direction in science. They not only change our ideas about patterns and matter, but also reveal new truths about the processes that shaped our solar system. The underlying science is important, simple, and beautiful—and Steinhardt’s firsthand account is “packed with discovery, disappointment, exhilaration, and persistence...This book is a front-row seat to history as it is made” (Nature).
This textbook explains the fundamental concepts and techniques of group theory by making use of language familiar to physicists. Application methods to physics are emphasized. New materials drawn from the teaching and research experience of the author are included. This book can be used by graduate students and young researchers in physics, especially theoretical physics. It is also suitable for some graduate students in theoretical chemistry.
