Elementary crystallography. An introduction to the fundamental geometrical features of crystals / Элементарная кристаллография. Введение в фундаментальные геометрические особенности кристаллов

Nearly every mineralogy, metallurgy, chemistry, and physics textbook now contains a short section on crystallography. These abbreviated treatments can hardly be expected to present more than some of the conclusions of the science. Something was plainly needed to explain the reasoning leading to these conclusions. This book was written to supply a fuller account of the subject.

Crystallography is a large science, and it is impossible to discuss all of it adequately in a single volume. This volume is concerned with the symmetry properties of crystals, which are fundamental to all other phases of crystallography. It is necessary to have a firm foundation in symmetry theory in order to make any further intelligent study of crystals or of the parts of other sciences which deal with crystals.

The subject matter of this volume falls naturally into three sections. About the first half of the book is devoted to a rational development of the mega-scopically observable symmetries of crystals. A second part of the book is devoted to a discussion of the internal symmetries of crystals. A third section contains some advanced material. <...>