In this very first chapter, I would like to give you an idea of the term “crystal structure.” First of all, we want to get an impression of how large or small crystalline objects can be. For this purpose, take a look at . Fig. 1.1, which is based on the popular short film “Powers of Ten” from 1977 [1]. This short film illustrates in a beautiful way, of which sizes objects are that are subject of scientific investigations. They span an impressive range of orders of magnitude. We do not want to explain all objects in detail, but instead will focus on just a few. <...>

Mineralogy deals with the predominantly crystalline building blocks of the geologi-cal matter surrounding us, the minerals. Since this geological matter served as a natural environment for humans from the beginning of their existence as a habitat and source of raw materials, the study of minerals as raw materials, building materials, materials and jewelry has always been a vital necessity. Mineralogy from this point of view is one of the oldest sciences. The increasing production and use of technical materials led to the fact that the concept of minerals today has also been extended to synthetic products <...>

THE proliferation and the importance of the results of crystal structure analysis confront the chemist with the need to learn the language of crystallography. This book is an outgrowth of the opinion that the training of the undergraduate chemistry major can include more of this language than the memorization of a list of lattice types. At the same time, it would be unreasonable and impractical to expect all chemists to become experts in this specialized field. The purpose, therefore, is to treat the subject in a manner that will quickly and painlessly enable the nonspecialist to read and comprehend the crystallographic literature. It is hoped that this introduction may serve as a useful starting point for those students who wish to pursue the subject further.

The principal message is contained in the first four chapters. That is, these chapters supply the vocabulary of crystallography, and descriptions of crystal structures should be rendered intelligible by acquaintance with this language. In order not to discourage the general reader, the use of mathematics has been kept to a minimum. The decision to omit vector and matrix methods was made reluctantly, in order to reduce the prerequisites, but the elegance thus sacrificed is a luxury that some exceptionally competent crystallographers get along without

To begin, we define soil as the weathered and fragmented outer layer of the earth’s terrestrial surface. It is formed initially through disintegration, decomposition, and recomposition of mineral material contained in exposed rocks by physical, chemical, and biological processes. The material thus modified is further conditioned by the activity and accumulated residues of numerous microscopic and macroscopic organisms (plants and animals). In a series of processes that may require hundreds or even thousands of years and that is called soil genesis, the loose debris of rock fragments is transmuted into a more or less stable, internally ordered, actively functioning natural body. Ultimately, this culminates in the formation of a characteristic soil profile, which resembles a layer cake. We can visualize the soil profile as a composite living body, in the same way that we think of the human body as a distinct organism, even though in reality it is an ensemble of numerous interdependent and symbiotically coordinated groups of organelles, cells, organs, and colonies of myriad organisms. <...>