P.
306 olivine information
Chemistry
Crystallography
Physical Properties
Optical Properties
Crystal Faces
Common crystal faces relate simply to
surfaces of unit cell
Often parallel to the faces of the unit cell
Isometric minerals often are cubes
Hexagonal minerals often are hexagons
Other faces are often simple diagonals
at uniform angles to the unit cell faces
These relationships were discovered in
18th century and codified into laws:
Stenos law
Law of Bravais
Law of Huay
Stenos Law
Angle between equivalent faces on a
crystal of some minerals are always the
same
Can understand why
Faces relate to unit cell, crystallographic axes,
and angular relationships between faces and
axes
Strictly controlled by symmetry of the crystal
system and class of that mineral
Law of Bravais
Common crystal faces are parallel to
lattice planes that have high lattice node
densities
All faces parallel unit
cell high density of
lattice nodes
Monoclinic crystal
T has intermediate
density of lattice
nodes fairly
common and
pronounced face on
mineral
Faces A, B, and C
intersect only one
axis principal faces
Face T intersects two
axes a and c, but at
same unit lengths
Face Q intersects A
and C at ratio 2:1
Q has low density, rare face
Fig. 2-21
Law of Hay
Crystal faces intersect axes at simple
integers of unit cell distances on the
crystallographic axes
Lengths can be absolute or relative:
Absolute distance - lengths have units
(typically ) and are not integers
Unit cell distances - typically small integers,
e.g., 1 to 3, occasionally higher
1 unit length is the absolute length of
crystallographic axis
Allows a naming system to describe planes
in the mineral (faces, cleavage, atomic
planes etc.)
Miller Indices
Miller Indices
Shorthand notation for where the faces
intercept the crystallographic axes
Miller Index
Set of three integers (hkl)
Inversely proportional to where face or
crystallographic plane (e.g. cleavage)
intercepts axes
General form is (hkl) where
h represents the a intercept
k represents the b intercept
l represents the c intercept
h, k, and l are ALWAYS integers
Consider face t:
Fig. 2-22
Imagine you
extend face t until
it intercepts
crystallographic
axes
Unit cell: each
side is one
unit length
How many unit lengths out along the crystallographic axes?
For face t:
Axial intercepts in
terms of unit cell
lengths:
a = 12
b = 12
c=6
Fig. 2-22
Face t, without the
rest of the form
Imagine the face is fit within
the unit cell so that the
maximum intercept is 1 unit
length;
The intercepts for a:b:c would
be 1:1:1/2
Miller indices are the inverse of
the intercepts
Inverting give (112) note that
the higher the number the closer
to the origin
Fig. 2-22
Face t is the
(112) face
Algorithm for calculation
What about faces that parallel axes?
With algorithm, miller index would be:
For example, intercepts a:b:c could be 1:1:
(hkl) = (1/1 1/1 1/) = (110)
If necessary you need to clear fractions
E.g. intercepts for a:b:c = 1:2:
Invert: 1/1 1/2 1/
Clear fractions: 2(1 0) = (210)
Some intercepts can be negative they
intercept negative axes
E.g. a:b:c = 1:-1:
Here (hkl) = 1/1:1/-1:1/ = (112)
-b
b
a
It is very easy
to visualize
the location of
a simple face
given miller
index, or to
derive a miller
index from
simple faces
-c
Fig. 2-23
Hexagonal Miller index
There need to be 4 intercepts (hkil)
Two a axes have to have opposite sign of
other axis so that
h = a1
k = a2
i = a3
l=c
h+k+i=0
Possible to report the index two ways:
(hkil)
(hkl)
(1010)
(100)
(1120)
(110)
(1121)
(111)
Klein and Hurlbut
Fig. 2-33
Assigning Miller indices
Prominent (and common) faces have small
integers for Miller Indices
Faces that cut only one axis
Faces that cut two axes
(100), (010), (001) etc
(110), (101), (011) etc
Faces that cut three axes
(111)
Called unit face