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Static Structure Factor
In condensed matter physics and crystallography, the static structure factor (or structure factor for short) is a mathematical description of how a material scatters incident radiation. The structure factor is a critical tool in the interpretation of scattering patterns (interference patterns) obtained in X-ray, electron and neutron diffraction experiments. Confusingly, there are two different mathematical expressions in use, both called 'structure factor'. One is usually written S(\mathbf); it is more generally valid, and relates the observed diffracted intensity per atom to that produced by a single scattering unit. The other is usually written F or F_ and is only valid for systems with long-range positional order — crystals. This expression relates the amplitude and phase of the beam diffracted by the (hk\ell) planes of the crystal ((hk\ell) are the Miller indices of the planes) to that produced by a single scattering unit at the vertices of the primitive unit cell. F_ is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Condensed Matter Physics
Condensed matter physics is the field of physics that deals with the macroscopic and microscopic physical properties of matter, especially the solid and liquid State of matter, phases, that arise from electromagnetic forces between atoms and electrons. More generally, the subject deals with condensed phases of matter: systems of many constituents with strong interactions among them. More exotic condensed phases include the superconductivity, superconducting phase exhibited by certain materials at extremely low cryogenic temperatures, the ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic phases of Spin (physics), spins on crystal lattices of atoms, the Bose–Einstein condensates found in ultracold atomic systems, and liquid crystals. Condensed matter physicists seek to understand the behavior of these phases by experiments to measure various material properties, and by applying the physical laws of quantum mechanics, electromagnetism, statistical mechanics, and other theoretical physics, physic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atomic Form Factor
In physics, the atomic form factor, or atomic scattering factor, is a measure of the scattering amplitude of a wave by an isolated atom. The atomic form factor depends on the type of scattering, which in turn depends on the nature of the incident radiation, typically X-ray diffraction, X-ray, Electron diffraction, electron or Neutron diffraction, neutron. The common feature of all form factors is that they involve a Fourier transform of a spatial density distribution of the scattering object from space, real space to momentum space (also known as reciprocal space). For an object with spatial density distribution, \rho(\mathbf), the form factor, f(\mathbf), is defined as :f(\mathbf)=\int \rho(\mathbf) e^\mathrm^3\mathbf, where \rho(\mathbf) is the spatial density of the scatterer about its center of mass (\mathbf=0), and \mathbf is the momentum transfer. As a result of the nature of the Fourier transform, the broader the distribution of the scatterer \rho in real space \mathbf, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Face-centred Cubic
In crystallography, the cubic (or isometric) crystal system is a crystal system where the unit cell is in the shape of a cube. This is one of the most common and simplest shapes found in crystals and minerals. There are three main varieties of these crystals: *Primitive cubic (abbreviated ''cP'' and alternatively called simple cubic) *Body-centered cubic (abbreviated ''cI'' or bcc) *Face-centered cubic (abbreviated ''cF'' or fcc) Note: the term fcc is often used in synonym for the ''cubic close-packed'' or ccp structure occurring in metals. However, fcc stands for a face-centered cubic Bravais lattice, which is not necessarily close-packed when a motif is set onto the lattice points. E.g. the diamond and the zincblende lattices are fcc but not close-packed. Each is subdivided into other variants listed below. Although the ''unit cells'' in these crystals are conventionally taken to be cubes, the primitive unit cells often are not. Bravais lattices The three Bravais latices ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bragg's Law
In many areas of science, Bragg's law — also known as Wulff–Bragg's condition or Laue–Bragg interference — is a special case of Laue diffraction that gives the angles for coherent scattering of waves from a large crystal lattice. It describes how the superposition of wave fronts scattered by lattice planes leads to a strict relation between the wavelength and scattering angle. This law was initially formulated for X-rays, but it also applies to all types of matter waves including neutron and electron waves if there are a large number of atoms, as well as to visible light with artificial periodic microscale lattices. History Bragg diffraction (also referred to as the Bragg formulation of X-ray diffraction) was first proposed by Lawrence Bragg and his father, William Henry Bragg, in 1913 after their discovery that crystalline solids produced surprising patterns of reflected X-rays (in contrast to those produced with, for instance, a liquid). They found that these crys ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miller Index
Miller indices form a notation system in crystallography for lattice planes in crystal (Bravais) lattices. In particular, a family of lattice planes of a given (direct) Bravais lattice is determined by three integers ''h'', ''k'', and ''ℓ'', the ''Miller indices''. They are written (''hkℓ''), and denote the family of (parallel) lattice planes (of the given Bravais lattice) orthogonal to \mathbf_ = h\mathbf_1 + k\mathbf_2 + \ell\mathbf_3 , where \mathbf_i are the basis or primitive translation vectors of the reciprocal lattice for the given Bravais lattice. (Note that the plane is not always orthogonal to the linear combination of direct or original lattice vectors h\mathbf_1 + k\mathbf_2 + \ell\mathbf_3 because the direct lattice vectors need not be mutually orthogonal.) This is based on the fact that a reciprocal lattice vector \mathbf (the vector indicating a reciprocal lattice point from the reciprocal lattice origin) is the wavevector of a plane wave in the Fouri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reciprocal Lattice
Reciprocal lattice is a concept associated with solids with translational symmetry which plays a major role in many areas such as X-ray and electron diffraction as well as the energies of electrons in a solid. It emerges from the Fourier transform of the lattice associated with the arrangement of the atoms. The ''direct lattice'' or ''real lattice'' is a periodic function in physical space, such as a crystal system (usually a Bravais lattice). The reciprocal lattice exists in the mathematical space of spatial frequencies or wavenumbers ''k'', known as reciprocal space or ''k'' space; it is the dual of physical space considered as a vector space. In other words, the reciprocal lattice is the sublattice which is dual to the direct lattice. The reciprocal lattice is the set of all vectors \mathbf_m, that are wavevectors k of plane waves in the Fourier series of a spatial function whose periodicity is the same as that of a direct lattice \mathbf_n. Each plane wave in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Perfect Crystal
Crystalline materials (mainly metals and alloys, but also stoichiometric salts and other materials) are made up of solid regions of ordered matter (atoms placed in one of a number of ordered formations called Bravais lattices). These regions are known as ''crystals''. A perfect crystal is a crystal that contains no point, line, or planar defects. There are a wide variety of crystallographic defects. The hypothetical concept of a perfect crystal is important in the basic formulation of the third law of thermodynamics. In crystallography, the phrase 'perfect crystal' can be used to mean "no linear or planar imperfections", as it is difficult to measure small quantities of point imperfections in an otherwise defect-free crystal. Imperfections are created by various thermodynamic Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bravais Lattice
In geometry and crystallography, a Bravais lattice, named after , is an infinite array of discrete points generated by a set of discrete translation operations described in three dimensional space by : \mathbf = n_1 \mathbf_1 + n_2 \mathbf_2 + n_3 \mathbf_3, where the ''ni'' are any integers, and a''i'' are ''primitive translation vectors'', or ''primitive vectors'', which lie in different directions (not necessarily mutually perpendicular) and span the lattice. The choice of primitive vectors for a given Bravais lattice is not unique. A fundamental aspect of any Bravais lattice is that, for any choice of direction, the lattice appears exactly the same from each of the discrete lattice points when looking in that chosen direction. The Bravais lattice concept is used to formally define a ''crystalline arrangement'' and its (finite) frontiers. A crystal is made up of one or more atoms, called the ''basis'' or ''motif'', at each lattice point. The ''basis'' may consist of atoms, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crystal Lattice
In crystallography, crystal structure is a description of ordered arrangement of atoms, ions, or molecules in a crystal, crystalline material. Ordered structures occur from intrinsic nature of constituent particles to form symmetric patterns that repeat along the principal directions of Three-dimensional space (mathematics), three-dimensional space in matter. The smallest group of particles in a material that constitutes this repeating pattern is the unit cell of the structure. The unit cell completely reflects the symmetry and structure of the entire crystal, which is built up by repetitive Translation (geometry), translation of the unit cell along its principal axes. The translation vectors define the nodes of the Bravais lattice. The lengths of principal axes/edges, of the unit cell and angles between them are lattice constants, also called ''lattice parameters'' or ''cell parameters''. The symmetry properties of a crystal are described by the concept of space groups. All possi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Translational Symmetry
In physics and mathematics, continuous translational symmetry is the invariance of a system of equations under any translation (without rotation). Discrete translational symmetry is invariant under discrete translation. Analogously, an operator on functions is said to be ''translationally invariant'' with respect to a translation operator T_\delta if the result after applying doesn't change if the argument function is translated. More precisely it must hold that \forall \delta \ A f = A (T_\delta f). Laws of physics are translationally invariant under a spatial translation if they do not distinguish different points in space. According to Noether's theorem, space translational symmetry of a physical system is equivalent to the momentum conservation law. Translational symmetry of an object means that a particular translation does not change the object. For a given object, the translations for which this applies form a group, the symmetry group of the object, or, if the obj ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crystal
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macroscopic single crystals are usually identifiable by their geometrical shape, consisting of flat faces with specific, characteristic orientations. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is known as crystallography. The process of crystal formation via mechanisms of crystal growth is called crystallization or solidification. The word ''crystal'' derives from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning both "ice" and " rock crystal", from (), "icy cold, frost". Examples of large crystals include snowflakes, diamonds, and table salt. Most inorganic solids are not crystals but polycrystals, i.e. many microscopic crystals fused together into a single solid. Polycrystals include most metals, rocks, ceramics, and ice. A third cat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ensemble Average
In physics, specifically statistical mechanics, an ensemble (also statistical ensemble) is an idealization consisting of a large number of virtual copies (sometimes infinitely many) of a system, considered all at once, each of which represents a possible state that the real system might be in. In other words, a statistical ensemble is a set of systems of particles used in statistical mechanics to describe a single system. The concept of an ensemble was introduced by J. Willard Gibbs in 1902. A thermodynamic ensemble is a specific variety of statistical ensemble that, among other properties, is in statistical equilibrium (defined below), and is used to derive the properties of thermodynamic systems from the laws of classical or quantum mechanics. Physical considerations The ensemble formalises the notion that an experimenter repeating an experiment again and again under the same macroscopic conditions, but unable to control the microscopic details, may expect to observe a ran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
