Physical Properties

Abstract

Just as a morphologically distinct macrocrystal reflects the symmetry of the internal crystal structure, so the physical properties of crystals are determined by their atomic structure. In contrast to glasses, fluids, and gases, which have a disorderly structure, crystals are composed of fïxed and orderly structural units that occupy the crystal lattice in regular, but varying, proportions. This causes many physical properties to vary with direction in a crystal. Crystals show an “anisotropic” (Greek anisos = unlike, tropos = direction) character, while glasses, etc. are “isotropic”.