Crystals

This book was one in the Longman Physics Topics series. It was written to provide background material for the work on crystals in the first year of the Nuffield Physics course.

The ideas introduced ranged well beyond those likely to have been touched on in class, and it was hoped that the questions raised would impel the students to ask questions, to carry out further experiment and to consult reference books.

An attempt was made to stress the nature of scientific activity, to bring students to the very frontiers of research (as it was in the late 1960s) where problems were still crying for solution, and to encourage and inspire them to cultivate the honest and enquiring mind which should be at the root of all intellectual endeavour.

The book was largely illustrated in black and white, with clear diagrams, and there were some colour images. The book included ideas for practical activities and model-making that are still of interest. The text about crystal shapes and crystal structure is still correct but the information about applications in the final section is now substantially out of date.

Contents
• Crystals in rocks
• Gemstones and crystal systems
• Which is which?
• The inside story
• Crystals for today and tomorrow
• Appendices
1. The symmetry of a cube
2. The fourteen crystal lattices
3. Some properties of crystals and common substances
4. Books for further reading

• URL: http://stem.org.uk/rx7eg