Crystal systems

Concept

A good understanding of the basics of crystallography is crucial to understand most of chemistry, physics and biological structures and phenomenon. The most basic concept in crystallography is the division of crystals into seven crystal systems namely triclinic, monoclinic, orthorhombic, tetragonal, trigonal, hexagonal and cubic. These system are differentiated depending on the dimensions of three vectors a, b and c and the angles between them alpha, beta and gamma.

Design philosophy and description The designs presented here can be easily printed and assembled into seven crystal systems. Each unit cell is divided into half for the purpose of easy printing and with out any need of supporting material. 

We have provided voids that can hold magnets. Two types of voids are provided. One type of void can fit 2mm x 5mm cylindrical magnets. Other type of void can fit 5mm x 5mm x 2mm cuboid magnets. After printing the parts, one can easily insert magnets into these voids and glue them. These magnets help a visually challenged learner to easily assemble the pieces into full unit cells and super cells (multiple unit cells stacked together in different arrangements).

Note: Magnets are not essential. One can as well use glue, connectors or any other fastening options to join two pieces together. 

Learning objectives The learner can feel the dimensions of each unitcell through touch and understand the differences between seven crystal systems. The learner can understand how multiple unitcells stack together and how a periodic system evolves.