PHY 107C (General Physics) for CEE Major

Reference Books:
1. Structure of Matter
(a) Elementary Solid State Physics: Principle and Application - M. Ali Omar
(b) Introduction to Solid State Physics - Charles Kittel
(c) Perspectives of Modern Physics - Arthur Beiser

2. Sound Waves and Fluid Mechanics

(a) University Physics Sears, Zemnaski and Young
(b) Fundamental of Vibrations and Waves S. P. Puri
(c) Elements of Properties of Matter D. S. Mathur

Section 1: Structure of Matter

Matter consists of one or more elements or their chemical compounds.
Examples- Na, Cu, Fe, NaCl, CeP, CeSb, CaCO3, etc.
Matter exists in nature in the solid, liquid and gaseous states.
Examples- Solid state--NaCl, Cu, Fe, Al
Liquid state--H2O, CH3OH
Gaseous state--He, Ne, Ar

1.1 Classification of Solids

The atoms and molecules in a solid are attached to one another with strong
attractive forces. The solids may be broadly classified as (i) crystalline solids
and (ii) non-crystalline solids.

Solids

Crystalline solids

Single crystals

Non-crystalline (amorphous) solids

Polycrystals

1.1.1 Crystalline Solids

The crystalline state of solids is characterized by regular (or periodic)
arrangement of atoms or molecules. Fig. 1.1 shows a crystalline solid. Filled
circles in this figure represent the positions of atoms/molecules in the solid.
Here, all the atoms/molecules are arranged periodically.

Fig. 1.1: A crystalline solid.

The energy released during the formation of an ordered structure (i.e. crystalline
structure) is higher than that released during the formation of a disordered
structure (i.e. non-crystalline or amorphus structure). This means that the
2

crystalline state is a low-energy state. So, the crystalline state is preferred by

most of the solids.

Gaseous or Liquid state

Energy released
Ecrystal , to form

Energy released
Ecrystal

> E amorphous

E amorphous , to form
amorphous solid

crystalline solid

Amorphous state Higher energy state

Lower energy state Crystalline state

The crystalline solids may be subdivided into (a) single crystal and (b)
polycrystal.

(a) Single Crystal

A crystal in which the periodicity of atoms/molecules extends throughout the
whole crystal is called a single crystal. Examples of single crystal are NaCl,
diamond, quartz(SiO2), etc..

(b) Polycrystal
In a polycrystal the periodicity of atoms or molecules is found locally in the
material (say up to 100 atomic layers), and the same periodicity is observed in
other parts of the material, but with different orientations of the atomic planes.
A polycrystal can be imagined in the way as shown in Fig. 1.2.

Fig. 1.2: A polycrystalline solid.

A polycrystalline material is composed of a large number of small single crystal
pieces (also called gains), which join together to form one solid. In other words,
a polycrystalline material is an aggregate (i.e., amount) of a large number of
small crystallites (or grains) with random orientations (i.e., like powder made
from a large single crystal) separated by well-defined grain boundaries.
Most of the metals (e.g., Fe, Cu, Al) and ceramics (e.g., metal oxide like Al2O3)
exhibit polycrystalline structure.
1.1.2 Non-crystalline or Amorphous Solids
If the arrangement of atoms or molecules in the solid is completely random,
then the solid is called a non-crystalline or amorphous solid. The periodicity, if
at all present, extends up to a distance of a few atomic diameters only (say
24=8 ). In other words, these solids exhibit short range order.
Window glass is the most familiar example of an amorphous material. The basic
ingredient for most glasses is sand (Silica, SiO2). Ordinary window glass is
usually made from a mixture of SiO2, limestone (CaCO3) and Soda ash
(Na2CO3). Quartz glass is made from pure SiO2.
4

1.2 Similarity between a liquid and an amorphous solid

A liquid has an amorphous structure. So the atoms in it appear to have random
distribution. As time passes, the atoms in the liquid drift from one region to
another, but their random distribution persists. This suggests a strong similarity
between a liquid and an amorphous solid, although the atoms in the latter case
(amorphous) are fixed in space and do not drift as they do in a liquid. This is
why amorphous solids, such as glass, are sometimes called as supercooled
liquids.

Liquid
(in amorphous state)
Very quickly cooling
(i.e., supercooling)
Amorphous solid
(example-glass)

1.3 The Crystal Lattice

In crystallography, only the geometrical properties of the crystal are of interest,
rather than those arising from the particular atoms constituting the crystal. The
crystal lattice is a regular periodic array of points in space, and these points are
basically located at the equilibrium positions of the atoms in the crystal. There
are two types of lattice: (i) Bravais lattice and (ii) non-Bravais lattice.

1.3.1 Bravais Lattice

A lattice in which all lattce points are equivalent, ie. all atoms in the crystal are
of the same kind, is called a Bravais lattice. Fig. 1.3 shows a Bravais lattice in
two dimensions. Here the lattice sites A, B, C are eqivalent to each other.
5

Fig.1.3: A Bravais lattice

1.3.2 Non-Bravais Lattice
A lattice in which some of the lattice points are non-equivalent is called a nonBravais lattice. Fig. 1.4 shows a non-Bravais lattice. Here the lattice sites A, B,
C are equivalent to each other, and so are the sites A/, B/, C/ among themselves,
but the two sites A and A/ are not equivalent to each other.

Fig. 1.4: A non-Bravais lattice

A non-Bravais lattice is sometimes referred to as a lattice with a basis. A nonBravais lattice may be regarded as a combination of two or more
interpenetrating Bravais lattices with fixed orientation relative to each other. So
the points A, B, C etc. form one Bravais lattice, while the points A/, B/, C/ etc.
form another.
6

1.4 Basis
A basis is a set of atoms stationed near each site of a Bravais lattice. In Fig. 1.4,
the basis is the two atoms A and A/, or any other equivalent set.
1.5 Unit Cell
The volume of the parallelepipe (opposite faces are parallel) whose sides are the

basis vectors a , b and c is called a unit cell of the lattice. Fig. 1.5 shows a
unit cell of a lattice in three dimensions. The volume of the unit cell is

V | a b c | . The number of lattice point per unit cell is one in this figure.

c
b
a

Fig. 1.5: A unit cell in three dimensions.

1.6 Primitive and Non-primitive Unit Cells
A unit cell having one lattice point is called a primitive unit cell. A primitive
unit cell is a minimum volume cell. In order to exhibit or to understand the
symmetry of the lattice more clearly, we sometimes deal with a unit cell which
is larger (non-primitive unit cell). The concept of primitive and non-primitive
unit cell can be obtained from the two-dimensional Bravis lattice as illustrated
in Fig. 1.6.

S2
a
a1

S1

a2

Fig. 1.6: A primitive (area S1) and a nonprimitive (area S2) unit cell.
7

The unit cell S1 formed by the basis vectors a1 and a 2 is a primitive unit cell

and the cell S2 formed by the vectors a and b is a non-primitive unit cell. In

the former case the number of lattice point per unit cell is one, while in the latter
case, the number of lattice point per unit cell is two. Unit cells of triclinic (

a b c; 90o ),

simple

monoclinic

( a b c; 90o ),

simple cubic ( a b c; 90o ), etc. are examples of primitive unit

cell.

All

nonsimple

lattices

like

base-centered

orthorhombic

a b c; 90o ), face-centered cubic (NaCl structure), etc. are

examples of non-primitive unit cell.
There is no connection between a non-primitive cell and a non-Bravais lattice. A
primitive cell refers to the particular and somewhat arbitrary choice of basis

vectors a , b , c in a Bravais lattice, while a non-Bravais lattice refers to the
physical fact of non equivalent sites.

1.7 Bravis Lattice in Two Dimensions

There are five Bravais lattices or nets in two dimensions. These are oblique,
square, hexagonal, simple rectangular, centered (body-centered) rectangular
lattices. These lattices are summarized in the following table.
8

Table 1.1: Five Bravais lattices in two dimensions.

Name of
lattice

Oblique

Square

Conventiona Restriction on
l unit cell
conventional
unit cell axes &
angles

Illustration of unit cell

Parallelogram | a || b |, 90o
(arbitrary)

Square

a
b

| a || b |, 90o

Hexagonal

60o rhombus

| a || b |, 120o

a
b

Simple
rectangular

Centered
rectangular

Rectangle

| a || b |, 90o

a
b

Rectangle

=120

| a || b |, 90o

a
b

a
b

Centered rectangular
unit cell (non-primitive)

Primitive un it cell

1.8 The Fourteen Bravais Lattices and the Seven Crystal Systems
There are only fourteen different Bravais latteces in three dimensions due to the
consequence of the translational-symmetry condition demanded of a lattice. To
understand the fact of reeducing the number of Bravais lattices, let us consider
the two-dimensional case of a regular pentagon. It can be drawn as an isolated
figure (like

), but one cannot place many such pentagons side by side so that

they fit tightly to fill the area of a plane with a connected array of
pentagons.(Fig. 1.7)

Fig. 1.7: A regular array of pentagons. The area of the plane cannot be filled
completely by the pentagons.
Many similar trials exhibit that the requirement of translational symmetry in
two dimensions restricts the number of possible lattices to only five. The
number of non-Bravais lattices in three dimentions is 230.
The fourteen Bravais lattices are grouped into seven crystal systems according
to the type of cells as listed in Table 1.2.

The cell of each system is a parallelepiped whose sides are the bases a , b & c .
The opposite angles are called , and . The cells in Table 1.2 are conventional
unit cells.
10

Table 1.2: Fourteen Bravais lattices grouped into seven crystal systems.
System

Bravais lattice
(symbol)

1. Triclinic

Simple(P)

Restriction on Illustration of conventional

unit cell
conventional
unit cell axes &
angles

| a || b || c |

90o

N
M

c
b
O

=NOM, =NOL, =MOL

2. Monoclinic

| a || b || c |
Base-centered (C) 90o
Simple(P)

c
b
a

(P)

3. Orthorhombic

| a || b || c |
Base-centered (C) 90o

(C)

Simple(P)

c
b

Body-centered(I)

(P)

Face-centered(F)

(C)

c
b
a

(I)

4. Tetragonal

Simple(P)
Body-centered(I)

(F)

| a || b || c |
90o
c b
a

(P)

11

(I)

System

Bravais lattice
(symbol)

5. Cubic

Simple(P)

Restriction on Illustration of conventional

unit cell
conventional
unit cell axes &
angles

| a || b || c |

Body-centered(I)

90o
c b

Face-centered(F)

(P)

(I)

(F)

6. Trigonal
(Rhombohedral)

Simple(P)

| a || b || c |
120o ,
90o
c
b
a

7. Hexagonal

Simple(P)

| a || b || c |

120o
90o
c

b
a

(P) shaded cell

Important notes A simple lattice has points only at the corners of the unit cell.
A body-centered lattice has one additional point at the center of the unit

cell.
A face-centered lattice has six additional points, one on each face of the
unit cell.
In all the nonsimple lattices the unit cells are nonprimitive.
12

1.9 Index System for Crystal Planes

The orientation of a crystal plane can be determined by three points in the plane,
provided they are not collinear. If these points lay on the respective crystal
axes(X, Y, Z axes), the plane can be specified by giving the coordinates of the
points in terms of the lattice constants a, b, c.
However, it is more useful for structure analysis to specify the orientation of a
plane by giving its Miller indices determined by the following rules.
(a) To determine the indices for the plane P as shown in Fig. 1.8, let us find its

intercepts with the axes along the basis vectors a , b and c .Let these intercepts
be x, y and z (x, y and z may be integer or fractional multiple of a, b and c,
respectively).
Z

Plane P
c
a

b
Y

Fig. 1.8: Plane P intercepting X, Y and Z axes at x 2a, y 1.5b and z 1c ,

respectively.
x y z
(b) We then form the triplet , ,
a b c

a b c
and invert it to obtain the triplet , ,
x y z
(c) Then we reduce this set to a similar one having the smallest integers by
an bn cn
multiplying by a common factor (say, n) like , ,
x y z
This set is called the Miller indices of the plane and is indicated by (h k l ) .
13

Example

3
Suppose the intercepts are x 2a, y b, z 1c (Fig. 1.8).
2
x y z 2a 3b 1c 3
Form the set , , , , 2, ,1 and inverting it we find
a b c a 2b c 2
1 2
, ,1 .
2 3
1 2
Multiplying the set , ,1 by the common dinominator of 6 to obtain the set
2 3
(3, 4, 6), which is written as (3 4 6) and is called the Miller indices of the plane.

Important Notes:

The Miller indices are so defined that all equivalent, parallel planes are
represented by the same set of indices.

When a unit cell has rotational symmetry, several non-parallel planes

may be equivalent by virtue of this symmetry. The indices within a curly
bracket like {hkl} represent all the planes equivalent to the plane (hkl)
through rotational symmetry.

For an intercept (of a plane with any axis) at infinite, the corresponding
miller index is zero.

Example-In the cubic system the indices {100} refer to the six planes (100),
(010), (001), ( 1 00), (0 1 0) and (00 1 ).

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Some important planes in a cubic crystal are shown below in Fig. 1.9.
Z

Y
X

(010)

(100)

(110)

Y
X

(200)

Y
(111)

Fig. 1.9: Some important planes in a cubic crystal.

1.10 Spacing between Planes of the Same Miller Indices

The interplanar distance between planes labelled by the same Miller indices
(hkl) is denoted by dhkl. The actual formula of dhkl depends on the crystal

|
a
structure. Let us consider the case of an orthorhombic lattice ( || b || c | ,

90o ). The dhkl can be calculated by referring to the Fig. 1.10,

imagining another plane parallel to the one shown and passing through the
origin. The distance between these planes, dhkl, is simply the length of the
normal line drawn from the origin to the plane shown.
15

Z
Normal

z
O
x

( hkl ) plane

d hkl =x co s
P

x sin

L
Y

M
X

Normal

L
(a)

(b)

Fig. 1.10: (a) (hkl) plane and (b) interplanar distance dhkl.
We define the angles which the normal line makes with the axes as , and
(Fig. 1.10), and the intercepts of the plane (hkl) with the axes as x, y and z. Then
we can write,
dhkl= xcos

(using Fig. 1.10(b))

= ycos
= zcos

..............................................(1.1)

The relation among the directional cosines cos, cos & cos is
cos2+cos2+cos2= 1

.......................(1.2)

d d d
or, hkl hkl hkl 1
x y z
or, d hkl 2

or, d hkl

1
2

1 1 1

x y z
1

1 1
1

x
y z

16

.............(1.3)
2

x, y and z are related to the Miller indices h, k and l by the following relations

a
b
c
h n ,k n , l n
x
z
y
a
b
c
or, x n , y n , z n
h
k
l

.................(1.4)

where n is the common factor used to reduce the indices to the smallest integers.
Substituting Eq. (1.4) into Eq. (1.3) we get

d hkl

h2
k2
l2

2
2
(
na
)
(
nb
)
(nc ) 2

h2 k 2 l 2

a2 b2 c2

.................(1.5)
2

For the cubic lattice we have a=b=c, so the above expression reduces to

d hkl

na
h2 k 2 l 2

.................(1.6)

1.11 Close-packed Structure

A crystal whose constituent atoms are so arranged as to occupy the maximum
possible volume of the unit cell by the atoms is said to have a close-packed
structure. Close-packed structures occur when the bonding forces are
spherically symmetric, as in the inert gases, or very nearly so, as in many
metals.
1.12 Formation of fcc and hcp Structures
There are two ways of arranging equivalent spheres to minimize the interstitial
volume. One way leads to a structure with cubic symmetry and it is the facecentered cubic and the other with hexagonal symmetry and is called the
hexagonal close-packed structure.
17

Spheres may be arranged in a single close packed layer by placing each sphere
in contact with six others (Fig. 1.11). A second similar layer may be placed on
top of this by placing each sphere in contact with three spheres of the bottom
layer (with centers of spheres over the points marked B). A third layer can be
added in two ways; in the cubic (fcc) structure, the spheres in the third layer are
placed over the holes in the first layer not occupied by second layer (over points
C); in the hexagonal close-packed structure, the spheres in the third layer are
places directly over the spheres of the first layer (over points A) and the packing
sequence is ABABAB.....

.A
+B

*C
.A

*C
.A

.A

+B

+B

.A

*C
+B

.A

.A

.A

*C
.A

*C
+B

.A

+B

.A
*C
.A

*C
+B

.A

+B

.A
*C
.A

*C
+B

.A

+B
*C

+B

.A

Fig. 1.11: Close-packed stacking of spheres.

1.13 Packing Fraction

Packing fraction is defined as the fraction of the total volume of the unit cell
filled by the atom(s).
Packing fraction, f=

Volume occupied by atom(s)

.
Volume of the unit cell

1.13.1 Packing Fraction of hcp Structure

LMNO is the base of hexagonal close-packed unit cell (Fig. 1.12) with
LO=LM=a=2R (a=bc). The sphere in the next layer has its center F vertically
18

above E and it touches the three spheres whose centers are at L, M and O (Fig.
1.13).

c
F
a

(2/3, 1/3, 1/2)

b

Fig. 1.12: Close-packed stacking of spheres.

c/2

G
E
L

Fig. 1.13: Positions of spheres in the first and second layers.

Now LE is 2/3 of median LG, as in LMO, LM=MO=OL=a.

So,

LE= 2/3 LG .............................................................(1.7)

We can write
(LM)2 =(LG)2 +(MG)2
a
or, a = (LG) +
2
2

19

or, LG=

a2

a2
3
3
= a=
a
4
4
2

2
3
a
LE=
a=
3 2
3
From Fig. 4.13 we can write
2

c
a2
2
2 a
2
EF= a

a
a
2
3
3
3
or,

c 2 2

1.633
a
3

........................................................(1.8)

O
X

N
a
M

L
a /2

Fig. 1.14: Area of the base of hcp unit cell.

From Fig. 1.14, the area of the base of hcp unit cell is
2

3 2
2 a

Xa= a a =
a .

2
2

Packing fraction = Fraction of total volume filled

3

4 a
4

2
2 R 3
Volume occupied by atom(s)
3
3 2
=
=
=
=0.74
Volume of the unit cell
( Xa )c
3 2 2 2

a
a
2
3

Examples of hcp structures are Be, Mg, Zn, Cd, etc..

20

1.13.2 Packing Fraction of Simple Cubic (sc) Structure

The unit cell of a simple-cubic crystal is shown in Fig. 1.15. Each atom has six
neighbouring atoms in this structure. The upper plane of the real structure of the
unit cell is shown in Fig. 1.16. Let the radius of each atom is R.

Fig. 1.15: Unit cell of simple cubic structure.

Fig. 1.16: The upper plane of the unit cell unit cell of sc structure.
So, a=R+R=2R

The volume of the unit cell is

V=a3=(2R)3=8R3
The number of atoms in the unit cell is (1/8) 8=1

1 R 3
Volume occupied by atom(s)
3
Packing fraction=
= 3 0.52 .
Volume of the unit cell
8R

21

1.13.3 Packing Fraction of Body-centered Cubic (bcc) Structure

All metallic elements (e.g., Li, Na, K, Cr, Mo, W, etc.) crystallize in the bodycentered cubic structure. The unit cell of bcc structure is shown in Fig. 1.17.
The structure is not a close-packed one because each atom has only eight
neighbours.

C
a
B
a
A

Fig. 1.17: Unit cell of bcc structure.

In the bcc structure, the number of atoms in the unit cell is (1/8) 8+1=2.
Let us denote the unit cell edge by a.
From Fig. 1.17,
AB2 =AD 2 +DB2=a2 +a2
or, AB= 2 a
If R is the radius of each atom, so we can write
C

AC=R+2R+R=4R for closer packing.

Now, AC2 =BC 2 +AB2

(4R)2 =a 2 +( 2 a) 2
16R2 =3a2
or, a

4R
3

B
2a

22

 4R
So the volume of the unit cell is a

4
2 R 3
Volume occupied by atom(s)
3
3
Packing fraction =
=
=
=0.68
3
Volume of the unit cell
8
4R

1.13.4 Packing Fraction of Face-centered Cubic (fcc) Structure

The unit cell of face-centered cubic structure is shown in Fig. 1.18. The facecentered cubic structure is a close-packed structure, each atom has 12 nearest
neighbour atoms. In the real structure, the atoms are in contact along the
diagonal of the faces. Let R be the radius of sphere (atom). So the diagonal AB
of the face can be written as AB=R+2R+R=4R (Fig. 1.19).

Fig. 1.18: Unit cell of fcc structure.

B
a

Fig. 1.19: A face of fcc structure.

23

Now, the number of atoms in one unit cell is

1
1
6 8 4
2
8
Again, AB2 = AC 2 +BC2= a2 +a2= 2a2
Or, (4R)2 = 2a2
Or, a =

4R
2

4R
Hence, the volume of the unit cell is a

2
3

4
4 R 3
2
3
Packing fraction =
=
=0.74
3
6
4R

24