Mineralogy Glossary
Essential terms and definitions for mineralogy and mineral collecting.
Crystallography
Bravais Lattice
One of 14 distinct three-dimensional lattice types that describe all possible periodic arrangements of points …
Crystal Face
A flat, planar surface on a natural crystal that reflects an internal plane of atoms. …
Crystal Habit
The characteristic external shape or form of a mineral crystal, described by terms such as …
Crystal System
One of seven categories of crystal symmetry (cubic, hexagonal, trigonal, orthorhombic, tetragonal, monoclinic, triclinic) defined …
Crystal Zone
A set of crystal faces whose intersecting edges are all parallel to a common direction …
Enantiomorphism
The property of a crystal structure that exists in two mirror-image forms (like left and …
Epitaxy
The oriented overgrowth of one crystalline material on the surface of another, with a specific …
Miller Indices
A notation system using three integers (hkl) to describe the orientation of crystal faces and …
Point Group
The set of symmetry operations (rotation, reflection, inversion) that describe the macroscopic symmetry of a …
Polymorphism
The ability of a chemical compound to crystallize in more than one crystal structure. Diamond …
Pseudomorph
A mineral that has the external form of another mineral species, formed by chemical replacement …
Space Group
A mathematical description of the full symmetry of a crystal structure, combining point symmetry with …
Symmetry Element
A geometric element (axis, plane, center) with respect to which one or more symmetry operations …
Twinning
The intergrowth of two or more crystal individuals in a symmetrical relationship, producing contact twins, …
Unit Cell
The smallest repeating structural unit of a crystal lattice that, when repeated in all directions, …