Cubic crystal lattices and close-packing

When substances form solids, they tend to pack together to form ordered arrays of atoms, ions, or molecules that we call crystals. Why does this order arise, and what kinds of arrangements are possible?

These are some of the questions we will explore in this lesson.

We will limit our discussion to cubic crystals, which form the simplest and most symmetric of all the lattice types. Cubic lattices are also very common — they are formed by many metallic crystals, and also by most of the alkali halides, several of which we will study as examples.


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