Types of Crystals

Shapes and Structures

By Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D., About.com Guide See More About:

crystallography crystal lattices physical properties chemical properties crystals

Copper sulfate has a triclinic crystal structure. Stephanb, wikipedia.org

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Crystal Grouped by Lattices (Shape) 8here are se;en crystal lattice systems. <ou can ;ie! e%amples of each type by follo!ing one of the 9$lse!here on the =eb9 lin#s ' ha;e pro;ided. *. Cubic or Isometric . not al!ays cube shaped: <ou9ll also find octahedrons >eight faces? and dodecahedrons >*) faces?. ,. Tetra onal . similar to cubic crystals, but longer along one a%is than the other, forming double pyramids and prisms. @. !rthorhombic . li#e tetragonal crystals e%cept not sAuare in cross section >!hen ;ie!ing the crystal on end?, forming rhombic prisms or dipyramids >t!o pyramids stuc# together?. 4. "e#a onal . si%.sided prisms. =hen you loo# at the crystal on.end, the cross section is a he%agon. B. Tri onal . possess a single @.fold a%is of rotation instead of the 3.fold a%is of the he%agonal di;ision. 3. Triclinic . usually not symmetrical from one side to the other, !hich can lead to some fairly strange shapes. C. Monoclinic . li#e s#e!ed tetragonal crystals, often forming prisms and double pyramids. 8his is a ;ery simplified ;ie! of crystal structures. 'n addition, the lattices can be primiti;e >only one lattice point per unit cell? or non.primiti;e >more than one lattice point per unit cell?. Combining the C crystal systems !ith the , lattice types yields the *4 Bra;ais Dattices >named after Auguste Bra;ais, !ho !or#ed out lattice structures in *-B)?. 8he structure of real crystals is pretty complicated: <ou can read about crystallography and mineral structures here and here. Crystals Grouped by $roperties 8here are four main categories of crystals, as grouped by their chemical and physical properties+ *. Co%alent Crystals A co;alent crystals has true co;alent bonds bet!een all of the atoms in the crystal. <ou can thin# of a co;alent crystal as one big molecule. Many co;alent crystals ha;e e%tremely high melting points. $%amples of co;alent crystals include diamond and 0inc sulfide crystals. ,. Metallic Crystals 'ndi;idual metal atoms of metallic crystals sit on lattice sites. 8his lea;es the outer electrons of these atoms free to float around the lattice. Metallic crystals tend to be ;ery dense and ha;e high melting points. @. Ionic Crystals 8he atoms of ionic crystals are held together by electrostatic forces >ionic bonds?. 'onic crystals are hard and ha;e relati;ely high melting points. 8able salt >1aCl? is an e%ample of this type of crystal.

4. Molecular Crystals 8hese crystals contain recogni0able molecules !ithin their structures. A molecular crystal is held together by non.co;alent interactions, li#e ;an der =aals forces or hydrogen bonding. Molecular crystals tend to be soft !ith relati;ely lo! melting points. 5oc# candy, the crystalline form of table sugar or sucrose, is an e%ample of a molecular crystal. As !ith the lattice classification system, this system isn9t completely cut.and.dried. ometimes it9s hard to categori0e crystals as belonging to one class as opposed to another. Ho!e;er, these broad groupings !ill pro;ide you !ith some understanding of structures. '9ll test your #no!ledge by referring to these crystal shapes in crystal.gro!ing tutorials: 2%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

&' Introduction
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8he discipline of crystallography has de;eloped a descripti;e terminology !hich is applied to crystals and crystal features in order to describe their structure, symmetry, and shape. 8his terminology defines the crystal lattice !hich pro;ides a mineral !ith its ordered internal structure. 't also describes ;arious types of symmetry. By considering !hat type of symmetry a mineral species possesses, the species may be categori0ed as a member of one of si% crystal systems and one of thirty.t!o crystal classes. 8he concept of symmetry describes the periodic repetition of structural features. 8!o general types of symmetry e%ist. 8hese include translational symmetry and point symmetry. 8ranslational symmetry describes the periodic repetition of a motif across a length or through an area or ;olume. Point symmetry, on the other hand, describes the periodic repetition of a motif around a point. 5eflection, rotation, in;ersion, and rotoin;ersion are all point symmetry operations. A reflection occurs !hen a motif on one side of a plane passing through the center of a crystal is the mirror image of a motif !hich appears on the other side of the plane. 8he motif is said to be reflected across the mirror plane !hich di;ides the crystal. (otational symmetry arises !hen a structural element is rotated a fi%ed number of degrees about a central point before it is repeated. 'f a crystal possesses in%ersion symmetry, then e;ery line dra!n through the center of the crystal !ill connect t!o identical features on opposite sides of the crystal. (otoin%ersion is a compound symmetry operation !hich is produced by performing a rotation follo!ed by an in;ersion.

A specified motif !hich is translated linearly and repeated many times !ill produce a lattice. A lattice is an array of points !hich define a repeated spatial entity called a unit cell. 8he unit cell of a lattice is the smallest unit !hich can be repeated in three dimensions in order to construct the lattice. 8he corners of the unit cell ser;e as points !hich are repeated to form the lattice arrayE these points are termed lattice points. 8he number of possible lattices is limited. 'n the plane only fi;e different lattices may be produced by translation. 8he 6rench crystallographer Auguste Bra;ais >*-**.*-3@? established that in three.dimensional space only fourteen different lattices may be constructed. 8hese fourteen different lattice structures are thus termed the )ra%ais lattices. 8he reflection, rotation, in;ersion, and rotoin;ersion symmetry operations may be combined in a ;ariety of different !ays. 8here are thirty.t!o possible uniAue combinations of symmetry operations. Minerals possessing the different combinations are therefore categori0ed as members of thirty.t!o crystal classesE each crystal class corresponds to a uniAue set of symmetry operations. $ach of the crystal classes is named according to the ;ariant of a crystal form !hich it displays. $ach crystal class is grouped as one of the si% different crystal systems according to !hich characteristic symmetry operation it possesses. A crystal form is a set of planar faces !hich are geometrically eAui;alent and !hose spatial positions are related to one another by a specified set of symmetry operations. 'f one face of a crystal form is defined, the specified set of point symmetry operations !ill determine all of the other faces of the crystal form. A simple crystal may consist of only a single crystal form. A more complicated crystal may be a combination of se;eral different forms. 8he crystal forms of the fi;e non.isometric crystal systems are the monohedron or pedion, parallelohedron or pinacoid, dihedron, or dome and sphenoid, disphenoid, prism, pyramid, dipyramid, trape0ohedron, scalenohedron, rhombohedron and tetrahedron. 6ifteen different forms are possible !ithin the isometric system. $ach crystal class is a member of one of si% crystal systems. 8hese systems include the isometric, he%agonal, tetragonal, orthorhombic, monoclinic, and triclinic systems. 8he he%agonal crystal system is further bro#en do!n into the he%agonal and rhombohedral di;isions. $;ery crystal of a certain crystal system !ill share a characteristic symmetry element !ith the other members of its system. 8he crystal system of a mineral species may sometimes be determined ;isually by e%amining a particularly !ell.formed crystal of the species.

*' Symmetry and Lattices

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Symmetry

Crystals possess a regular, repetiti;e internal structure. 8he concept of symmetry describes the repetition of structural features. Crystals therefore possess symmetry, and much of the discipline of crystallography is concerned !ith describing and cataloging different types of symmetry. 8!o general types of symmetry e%ist. 8hese consist of translational symmetry and point symmetry. 8ranslational symmetry describes the periodic repetition of a structural feature across a length or through an area or ;olume. Point symmetry, on the other hand, describes the periodic repetition of a structural feature around a point. 5eflection, rotation, and in;ersion are all point symmetries.
Lattices

8he concept of a lattice is directly related to the idea of translational symmetry. A lattice is a net!or# or array composed of single motif !hich has been translated and repeated at fi%ed inter;als throughout space. 6or e%ample, a sAuare !hich is translated and repeated many times across the plane !ill produce a planar sAuare lattice. 8he unit cell of a lattice is the smallest unit !hich can be repeated in three dimensions in order to construct the lattice. 'n a crystal, the unit cell consists of a specific group of atoms !hich are bonded to one another in a set geometrical arrangement. 8his unit and its constituent atoms are then repeated o;er and o;er in order to construct the crystal lattice. 8he surroundings in any gi;en direction of one corner of a unit cell must be identical to the surroundings in the same direction of all the other corners. 8he corners of the unit cell therefore ser;e as points !hich are repeated to form a lattice arrayE these points are termed lattice points. 8he ;ectors !hich connect a straight line of eAui;alent lattice points and delineate the edges of the unit cell are #no!n as the crystallo raphic a#es. 8he number of possible lattices is limited. 'n the plane only fi;e different lattices may be produced by translation. &ne of these lattices possesses a sAuare unit cell !hile another possesses a rectangular unit cell. 8he third possible planar lattice possesses a centered rectangular unit cell, !hich contains a lattice point in the center as !ell as lattice points on the corners. 8he unit cell of the

fourth possible planar lattice is a parallelogram, and that of the final planar lattice is a he%agonal unit cell !hich may alternately be considered a rhombus.
Bravais Lattices
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8he 6rench crystallographer Auguste Bra;ais >*-**.*-3@? established that in three.dimensional space only fourteen different lattices may be constructed. 8he fourteen )ra%ais lattices may be di;ided among si% crystal systems. 8hese are the isometric or cubic, tetragonal, orthorhombic, monoclinic, triclinic, and he%agonal systems. >8he si% crystal systems are discussed belo!.? 8he Bra;ais lattices are furthermore of three different types. A primiti%e lattice has only a lattice point at each corner of the three.dimensional unit cell. A body+centered lattice contains not only lattice points at each corner of the unit cell but also contains a lattice point at the center of the three.dimensional unit cell. A face+ centered lattice possesses not only lattice points at the corners of the unit cell but also at either the centers of "ust one pair of faces or else at the centers of all three pairs of faces. 8he fourteen Bra;ais lattices are therefore the primiti;e cubic, body.centered cubic, face.centered cubic, primiti;e tetragonal, body. centered tetragonal, primiti;e orthorhombic, body.centered orthorhombic, single face.centered orthorhombic, multiple face.centered orthorhombic, primiti;e monoclinic, single face.centered monoclinic, primiti;e triclinic, single face.centered he%agonal, and rhombohedral lattices. >8he rhombohedral lattice is a subset of the he%agonal crystal system.?
Point Symmetry Operations

$oint symmetry describes the repetition of a motif or structural feature around a single reference point, commonly the center of a unit cell or a crystal. 8he different point.symmetry operations are reflection, rotation, in;ersion, and the combined operation rotoin;ersion. A reflection occurs !hen the structure features on one side of a plane passing through the center of a crystal are the mirror image of the structural features on the other side. 8he plane across !hich the reflection occurs is then termed a mirror plane. (otational symmetry arises !hen a structural element is rotated a fi%ed number of degrees about a central point and then repeated. A sAuare, for e%ample, possesses 4.fold rotational symmetry because it may be rotated four times by ()F about its central point before it is returned to its original position. $ach time it is rotated by ()F the resultant sAuare !ill be identical in appearance to the original sAuare. 'f a crystal possesses in%ersion symmetry, then any line !hich is dra!n

through the origin at the center of the crystal !ill connect t!o identical features on opposite sides of the crystal. (otoin%ersion is a compound symmetry operation !hich is produced by performing a rotation follo!ed by an in;ersion. *.fold, ,.fold, @.fold, 4.fold, and 3.fold rotoin;ersion operations e%ist. Most of these rotoin;ersions may alternately be described by a specified set of rotation, reflection and in;ersion operations. A *.fold rotoin;ersion is eAui;alent to rotation by @3)F follo!ed by in;ersion. 8his procedure is ultimately eAui;alent to a single in;ersion. A ,. fold rotoin;ersion a%is is eAui;alent to reflection through a mirror plane perpendicular to the rotoin;ersion a%is. A crystal !hich possesses a @.fold rotoin;ersion a%is is eAui;alent to one !hich possesses both @.fold rotational symmetry and in;ersion symmetry. A 3.fold rotoin;ersion is eAui;alent to @. fold rotation and reflection across a mirror plane !hich lies at right angles to the rotation a%is. 8he only rotoin;ersion operation !hich cannot be replaced by a combination of rotations, reflections and in;ersions is 4.fold rotoin;ersion. 8he reflection, rotation, in;ersion, and rotoin;ersion symmetry operations may be combined in a ;ariety of different !ays. 8here are thirty.t!o different possible combinations of these symmetry elements. Minerals possessing the different combinations are therefore categori0ed as members of @, possible crystal classes. According to this schema, each crystal class corresponds to a uniAue set of symmetry operations. $ach crystal class is then placed into one of the si% different crystal systems so that se;eral different classes are members of each system.

,' Crystal Systems

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$;ery crystal class is a member of one of the si% crystal systems. 8hese systems include the isometric, he%agonal, tetragonal, orthorhombic, monoclinic, and triclinic crystal systems. 8he he%agonal crystal system is further bro#en do!n into he%agonal and rhombohedral di;isions. $;ery crystal class !hich belongs to a certain crystal system !ill share a characteristic symmetry element !ith the other members of its system. 6or e%ample, all crystals of the isometric system possess four @.fold a%es of symmetry !hich proceed diagonally from corner to corner through the center of the cubic unit cell. 'n contrast, all crystals of the he%agonal di;ision of the he%agonal system possess a single si%.fold a%is of rotation. 'n addition to the characteristic symmetry element, a crystal class may possess other symmetry elements !hich are not necessarily present in all

members of the same system. 8he crystal class !hich possesses the highest possible symmetry or the highest number of symmetry elements !ithin each system is termed the holomorphic class of the system. 6or e%ample, crystals of the holomorphic class of the isometric system possess in;ersion symmetry, three 4.fold a%es of rotational symmetry, the characteristic set of four @.fold a%es of rotational symmetry !hich is indicati;e of the isometric crystal system, si% ,.fold a%es of rotational symmetry, and nine different mirror planes. 'n contrast, a crystal !hich is not a member of the holomorphic class yet still belongs to the isometric system may possess only three ,.fold a%es of rotational symmetry and the characteristic four @.fold a%es of rotational symmetry. 8he crystal system of a mineral species may sometimes be determined in the field by ;isually e%amining a particularly !ell.formed crystal of the species. Isometric 8he isometric crystal system is also #no!n as the cubic system. 8he crystallographic a%es used in this system are of eAual length and are mutually perpendicular, occurring at right angles to one another. All crystals of the isometric system possess four @.fold a%es of symmetry, each of !hich proceeds diagonally from corner to corner through the center of the cubic unit cell. Crystals of the isometric system may also demonstrate up to three separate 4.fold a%es of rotational symmetry. 8hese a%es, if present, proceed from the center of each face through the origin to the center of the opposite face and correspond to the crystallographic a%es. 6urthermore crystals of the isometric system may possess si% ,.fold a%es of symmetry !hich e%tend from the center of each edge of the crystal through the origin to the center of the opposite edge. Minerals of this system may demonstrate up to nine different mirror planes. $%amples of minerals !hich crystalli0e in the isometric system are halite, magnetite, and garnet. Minerals of this system tend to produce crystals of eAuidimensional or eAuant habit. >Please refer to ection , for more information on crystal habit.? "e#a onal Minerals of the he#a onal crystal system are referred to three crystallographic a%es !hich intersect at *,)F and a fourth !hich is perpendicular to the other three. 8his fourth a%is is usually depicted ;ertically. 8he he%agonal crystal system is di;ided into the he#a onal and rhombohedral or tri onal di;isions. All crystals of the he%agonal di;ision possess a single 3.fold a%is of rotation. 'n addition to the single

3.fold a%is of rotation, crystals of the he%agonal di;ision may possess up to si% ,.fold a%es of rotation. 8hey may demonstrate a center of in;ersion symmetry and up to se;en mirror planes. Crystals of the trigonal di;ision all possess a single @.fold a%is of rotation rather than the 3.fold a%is of the he%agonal di;ision. Crystals of this di;ision may possess up to three ,.fold a%es of rotation and may demonstrate a center of in;ersion and up to three mirror planes. Minerals species !hich crystalli0e in the he%agonal di;ision are apatite, beryl, and high Auart0. Minerals of this di;ision tend to produce he%agonal prisms and pyramids. $%ample species !hich crystalli0e in the rhombohedral di;ision are calcite, dolomite, lo! Auart0, and tourmaline. uch minerals tend to produce rhombohedra and triangular prisms. Tetra onal Minerals of the tetra onal crystal system are referred to three mutually perpendicular a%es. 8he t!o hori0ontal a%es are of eAual length, !hile the ;ertical a%is is of different length and may be either shorter or longer than the other t!o. Minerals of this system all possess a single 4.fold symmetry a%is. 8hey may possess up to four ,.fold a%es of rotation, a center of in;ersion, and up to fi;e mirror planes. Mineral species !hich crystalli0e in the tetragonal crystal system are 0ircon and cassiterite. 8hese minerals tend to produce short crystals of prismatic habit. !rthorhombic Minerals of the orthorhombic crystal system are referred to three mutually perpendicular a%es, each of !hich is of a different length than the others. Crystals of this system uniformly possess three ,.fold rotation a%es and/or three mirror planes. 8he holomorphic class demonstrates three ,. fold symmetry a%es and three mirror planes as !ell as a center of in;ersion. &ther classes may demonstrate three ,.fold a%es of rotation or one ,.fold rotation a%is and t!o mirror planes. pecies !hich belong to the orthorhombic system are oli;ine and barite. Crystals of this system tend to be of prismatic, tabular, or acicular habit. Monoclinic Crystals of the monoclinic system are referred to three uneAual a%es. 8!o of these a%es are inclined to!ard each other at an obliAue angleE these are usually depicted ;ertically. 8he third a%is is perpendicular to the other t!o. 8he t!o ;ertical a%es therefore do not intersect one another at right angles, although both are perpendicular to the hori0ontal

a%is. Monoclinic crystals demonstrate a single ,.fold rotation a%is and/or a single mirror plane. 8he holomorphic class possesses the single ,.fold rotation a%is, a mirror plane, and a center of symmetry. &ther classes display "ust the ,.fold rotation a%is or "ust the mirror plane. Mineral species !hich adhere to the monoclinic crystal system include pyro%ene, amphibole, orthoclase, a0urite, and malachite, among many others. 8he minerals of the monoclinic system tend to produce long prisms. Triclinic Crystals of the triclinic system are referred to three uneAual a%es, all of !hich intersect at obliAue angles. 1one of the a%es are perpendicular to any other a%is. Crystals of the triclinic system may be said to possess only a *.fold symmetry a%is, !hich is eAui;alent to possessing no symmetry at all. Crystals of this system possess no mirror planes. 8he holomorphic class demonstrates a center of in;ersion symmetry. Mineral species of the triclinic class include plagioclase and a%initeE these species tend to be of tabular habit.

-' Crystal .orms

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A crystal form is a set of faces !hich are geometrically eAui;alent and !hose spatial positions are related to one another according to the symmetry of the crystal. 'f one face of a crystal form is defined, the point symmetry operations !hich specify the class to !hich the crystal belongs also determine the other faces of the crystal form. 6ifteen different forms are possible !ithin the isometric or cubic system. 8hese include the he%octahedron, gyroid, he%tetrahedron, diploid, and tetartoid, among others. 8he crystal forms of the remaining fi;e crystal systems are the monohedron or pedion, parallelohedron or pinacoid, dihedron, or dome and sphenoid, disphenoid, prism, pyramid, dipyramid, trape0ohedron, scalenohedron, rhombohedron, and tetrahedron. 8he crystal forms !hich occur in each crystal class and system must possess a symmetry complementary to that of the associated crystal class and system. 6or e%ample, a monohedron, !hich possesses only one face, !ill ne;er occur in a crystal !ith in;ersion symmetry because the in;ersion operation

reAuires that an eAui;alent face be present on the opposite side of the crystal. A simple crystal may consist of only a single crystal form. A more complicated crystal may be a combination of se;eral different forms. All forms !hich occur in a crystal of a particular system must be compatible !ith that crystal system. Monohedron 8he monohedral crystal form is also called a pedion. 't consists of a single face !hich is geometrically uniAue for the crystal and is not repeated by any set of symmetry operations. Members of the triclinic crystal system produce monohedral crystal forms. $arallelohedron 8he parallelohedral crystal form is also called a pinacoid. 't consists of t!o and only t!o geometrically eAui;alent faces !hich occupy opposite sides of a crystal. 8he t!o faces are parallel and are related to one another only by a reflection or an in;ersion. Members of the triclinic crystal system produce parallelohedral crystal forms. /ihedron 8he dihedron consists of t!o and only t!o nonparallel geometrically eAui;alent faces. 8he t!o faces may be related by a reflection or by a rotation. 8he dihedron is termed a dome if the t!o faces are related only by reflection across a mirror plane. 'f the t!o faces are related instead by a ,.fold rotation a%is then the dihedron is termed a sphenoid. Members of the monoclinic crystal system produce dihedral crystal forms. /isphenoid Members of the orthorhombic and tetragonal crystal systems produce rhombic and tetragonal disphenoids, !hich possess t!o sets of nonparallel geometrically eAui;alent faces, each of !hich is related by a ,.fold rotation. 8he faces of the upper sphenoid alternate !ith the faces of the lo!er sphenoid in such forms. $rism A prism is composed of a set of @, 4, 3, -, or *, geometrically eAui;alent faces !hich are all parallel to the same a%is. $ach of these faces intersects !ith the t!o faces ad"acent to it to produce a set of parallel edges. 8he mutually parallel edges of all intersections of the prism sides then form a tube. Prisms are gi;en names based on the shape of their cross section. Gariants of the prism form include the rhombic prism, tetragonal prism, trigonal prism, and he%agonal prism. A prism in !hich the large faces are di;ided into t!o mirror.image faces !hich intersect !ith one another at an obliAue angle is called a ditetragonal

prism, a ditrigonal prism, or a dihe%agonal prism. Prisms are associated !ith the members of the monoclinic crystal system. $yramid A pyramid is composed of a set of @, 4, 3, -, or *, faces !hich are not parallel but instead intersect at a point. 8he orthorhombic, tetragonal and he%agonal crystal systems all produce pyramids. 8hese pyramids are named according to the shape of their cross.section in the same !ay that prisms are. 8hus are produced the rhombic pyramid, tetragonal pyramid, trigonal pyramid, and he%agonal pyramid. $ach large face of the ditetragonal pyramid, ditrigonal pyramid, and dihe%agonal pyramids is di;ided into t!o mirror.image faces !hich occupy an obliAue angle !ith respect to one another. /ipyramid 8he dipyramidal crystal form is composed of t!o pyramids placed base.to.base and related by reflection across a mirror plane !hich runs parallel to and ad"acent to the pyramid bases. 8he upper and lo!er pyramids may each ha;e @, 4, 3, -, or *, facesE the dipyramidal form therefore possesses a total of 3, -, *,, *3, or ,4 faces. 8he orthorhombic, tetragonal and he%agonal crystal systems all produce dipyramids. 8hese dipyramids are named for the shape of their cross.section "ust as prisms and pyramids are, resulting in the rhombic dipyramid, trigonal dipyramid, tetragonal dipyramid, and he%agonal dipyramid. 8he large faces of the ditetragonal, ditrigonal and dihe%agonal dipyramids are di;ided into t!o mirror.image faces !hich intersect one another at an obliAue angle. Trape0ohedron A trape0ohedron is a crystal form possessing 3, -, or *, trape0oidal faces. 8he tetragonal crystal system and both the trigonal and he%agonal di;isions of the he%agonal crystal system produce trape0ohedral crystal forms. 8rigonal trape0ohedra possess three trape0oidal faces on the top and three on the bottom for a total of si% facesE tetragonal trape0ohedra ha;e four faces on top and four on the bottom for a total of eight facesE and he%agonal trape0ohedra ha;e si% faces on top and si% on the bottom, resulting in t!el;e faces total. Scalenohedron A scalenohedron consists of - or *, faces, each of !hich is a scalene triangle. 8he faces appear to be grouped into symmetric pairs. 8he tetragonal and he%agonal crystal systems produce the scalenohedral crystal form, of !hich e%amples may be further described as trigonal, tetragonal and he%agonal scalenohedra. (hombohedron

8he rhombohedral crystal form possesses si% rhombus.shaped faces. A rhombohedron resembles in appearance a cube !hich is poised upright upon one corner and has been either flattened or elongated along an a%is !hich runs diagonally from corner to corner through the center. 8he rhombohedral crystal form is produced only by members of the trigonal and rhombohedral di;isions of the he%agonal crystal system. Tetrahedron A tetrahedron is composed of four triangular faces. 'n crystals of the isometric system each face is an identical eAuilateral triangle. 'n crystals of the tetragonal system each face is an identical isoceles triangleE this ;ariant of the tetrahedron is called a tetragonal tetrahedron. 'n crystals of the orthorhombic system the faces consist of t!o pairs of different isoceles trianglesE the crystal is then termed a rhombic tetrahedron.

1' Crystal Classes 8he reflection, rotation, in;ersion, and rotoin;ersion symmetry operations may be combined in thirty.t!o different !ays. 8hirty.t!o different crystal classes are therefore defined so that each crystal class corresponds to a uniAue set of symmetry operations. $ach of the crystal classes is named according to the ;ariant of a crystal form !hich it displays. 6or e%ample, the isometric he%octahedral class belongs to the isometric crystal system and demonstrates the he%octahedral crystal form. 8he rhombic pyramidal, tetragonal pyramidal, trigonal pyramidal and he%agonal pyramidal classes each display a ;ariant of the crystal form !hich is called a pyramid. $ach crystal class is a member of one of the si% different crystal systems according to !hich characteristic symmetry operation it possesses. 6or e%ample, all crystals of the isometric system possess four @.fold a%es of symmetry, !hile minerals of the tetragonal system possess a single 4.fold symmetry a%is and crystals of the triclinic class sho! no symmetry at all. 8he rhombic pyramidal crystal class is thus a member of the orthorhombic crystal system, the tetragonal pyramidal class is a member of the tetragonal crystal system, and the trigonal and he%agonal pyramidal classes are members of the rhombohedral >trigonal? and he%agonal di;isions of the he%agonal crystal system respecti;ely.

Table of the 32 Crystal Classes

8he follo!ing table lists in bold type the si% crystal systems. 'ncluded are the isometric, he%agonal, tetragonal, orthorhombic, monoclinic, and triclinic systems. 8he tetragonal crystal system is further separated into the he%agonal and trigonal or rhombohedral di;isions. Hnder each crystal system the table lists by name the crystal classes !hich occur !ithin that system. 6or e%ample, the crystal classes !hich occur !ithin the trigonal crystal system are the trigonal monohedral and trigonal parallelohedral crystal classes. Ad"acent to the listing of each crystal class is the symmetry of the class. =hen listing the symmetry of each crystal class an a%is of rotational symmetry is represented by the capital letter A. =hether this a%is is a ,.fold, @. fold, or 4.fold a%is is indicated by a subscript follo!ing the letter A. 8he number of such a%es present is indicated by a numeral preceding the capital A. *A,, ,A@, and @A4 thus represent one ,.fold a%is of rotation, t!o @.fold a%es, and three 4.fold a%es respecti;ely. A center of in;ersion is noted by the lo!ercase letter 9i9 !hile a mirror plane is denoted by 9m9. 8he numeral preceding the m indicates ho! many mirror planes are present. A%es of rotary in;ersion are usually replaced by the eAui;alent rotations and reflections. 6or e%ample, a ,. fold rotoin;ersion a%is is eAui;alent to reflection through a mirror plane perpendicular to the rotoin;ersion a%is. A crystal !hich possesses a @.fold rotoin;ersion a%is is eAui;alent to one !hich possesses both @.fold rotational symmetry and in;ersion symmetry. A 3.fold rotoin;ersion is eAui;alent to @. fold rotation and reflection across a mirror plane at right angles to the rotation a%is. 8he only rotoin;ersion operation !hich cannot be thus replaced is 4.fold rotoin;ersion, !hich is indicated by 54. 8he class !hich possesses the highest possible symmetry !ithin each crystal system is termed the holomorphic class of that system. 8he holomorphic class of each crystal system is indicated in the table by bold type. 6or e%ample, the triclinic parallelohedron is the holomorphic class of the triclinic crystal system !hile the isometric he%octahedron is the holomorphic class of the isomorphic or cubic crystal system. 8he characteristic symmetry element of each crystal system is listed in bold type. 't is thus apparent that the characteristic symmetry element of the isometric crystal system is the possession of four @.fold a%es of rotational symmetry, !hile the characteristic symmetry element of the rhombohedral di;ision of the he%agonal crystal system is the possession of a single @.fold a%is of rotational symmetry.

Crystal System

Crystal Class 2

Symmetry of

Crystal .orm he#octahedron gyroid he%tetrahedron diploid tetartoid dihe#a onal dipyramid he%agonal trape0ohedron dihe%agonal pyramid ditrigonal dipyramid he%agonal dipyramid he%agonal pyramid trigonal dipyramid he#a onal scalenohedron trigonal trape0ohedron ditrigonal pyramid rhombohedron trigonal pyramid ditetra onal dipyramid tetragonal trap0ohedron ditetragonal pyramid tetragonal scalenohedron tetragonal dipyramid tetragonal pyramid tetragonal disphenoid rhombic dipyramid rhombic disphenoid rhombic pyramid prism sphenoid dome parallellohedron

Class
i, @A4, -A,, 3A,, (m @A4, -A,, 3A, @A,, -A,, 3m i, @A,, -A,, @m @A,, -A,

Isometric System

"e#a onal System

He%agonal Di;ision

i, &A3, 3A,, Cm &A3, 3A, &A3, 3m &(3, @A,, @m i, &A3, *m &A3 &(3

5hombohedral Di;ision

i, &A,, @A,, @m &A,, @A, &A,, @m i, &A, &A,

Tetra onal System

i, &A-, 4A,, Bm &A-, 4A, &A-, 4m &(-, ,A,, ,m i, &A-, *m &A&(-

!rthorhombic System Monoclinic System Triclinic System

i, @A,, @m @A, *A,, ,m i, *A,, *m *A, *m i

monohedron

no symmetry