Materials Science Concepts

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Crystal structure

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The arrangement of atoms in a crystalline solid.

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Amorphous

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A solid that lacks the long-range order characteristic of a crystal.

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Polymorphism

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The ability of a solid material to exist in more than one form or crystal structure.

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Allotropy

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The existence of two or more different forms of an element in the same physical state.

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Coordination number (CN)

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The number of atoms or ions immediately surrounding a central atom in a complex or crystal.

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Atomic packing factor (APF)

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The fraction of volume in a crystal structure that is occupied by atoms.

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Body-centered cubic (BCC)

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A type of crystal structure where each corner and the center of the cube is occupied by an atom.

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Face-centered cubic (FCC)

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A type of crystal structure where each face of the cube has an atom at its center, in addition to the corner atoms.

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Hexagonal close-packed (HCP)

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A type of crystal structure where each atom is surrounded by 12 others, forming a hexagonal lattice.