This fully revised and updated edition has been prepared by a very active worker in the field, who has used previous editions extensively both in teaching and in research, together with one of the original authors. Since the first edition, written in the late 1960s, understanding of crystal defects such as dislocations, stacking faults, twin, grain and interphase boundaries and of their effect on the mechanical and electrical properties of materials has grown enormously and has been accompanied by a total change in style of the way in which both research and teaching are carried out through the use of the fast digital computer. This edition takes account of this change. <...>

Some families of inorganic compounds form an array of more or less closely related, very complex structures with a number of independent atomic positions and unit cells of large dimensions. These structures can be broken up into a number of fragments (modules) that have relatively simple substructures but are joined into a more complex whole. Some modules occur in many members of these families, often in variably expanded/contracted forms as well as combined with elements of other kinds.

This is volume five in the series of picture books that I am creating for educational purposes. All images in this volume were created using the program JPOWD from MDI (www.materialsdata.com). The structures presented here correspond to the crystal structure gallery on my website (www.jcrystal.com/steffenweber/gallery/StructureTypes/st1.html). On that website you can also find further data, such as unit cell parameters and atom coordinates . 

Crystallography – the study of crystals, their structures and properties – has antecedents predating modern science. Despite this long history, the subject remains dynamic and is changing rapidly. Protein crystallography is but one example. An understanding of many biological processes at a molecular level, already leading to a fundamental change in the treatment of many chronic illnesses, has been built upon protein crystal structure studies of awesome complexity. Other areas of rapid growth stand out. The development of computer software has revolutionised the way in which crystal structures can be depicted. The presentation of such structures as nets, for example, leads to images that compare in beauty with the best of abstract art <...>