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The primitive translation vectors of the oblique lattice form an angle other than 90° and are of unequal lengths. Crystal classes. The oblique lattice class ...
Let ,, be primitive translation vectors (shortly called primitive vectors) of a crystal lattice, where atoms are located at lattice points described by = + + with , , and as any integers. (So x {\displaystyle \mathbf {x} } indicating each lattice point is an integer linear combination of the primitive vectors.)
If the lattice or crystal is 2-dimensional, the primitive cell has a minimum area; likewise in 3 dimensions the primitive cell has a minimum volume. Despite this rigid minimum-size requirement, there is not one unique choice of primitive unit cell. In fact, all cells whose borders are primitive translation vectors will be primitive unit cells.
Vectors and are primitive translation vectors. The honeycomb point set is a special case of the hexagonal lattice with a two-atom basis. [ 1 ] The centers of the hexagons of a honeycomb form a hexagonal lattice, and the honeycomb point set can be seen as the union of two offset hexagonal lattices.
In either case, one needs to choose the three lattice vectors a 1, a 2, and a 3 that define the unit cell (note that the conventional unit cell may be larger than the primitive cell of the Bravais lattice, as the examples below illustrate). Given these, the three primitive reciprocal lattice vectors are also determined (denoted b 1, b 2, and b 3).
Instead, it is chosen so the number of orthogonal basis vectors is maximized. This results in some of the coefficients of the equations above being fractional. A lattice in which the conventional basis is primitive is called a primitive lattice, while a lattice with a non-primitive conventional basis is called a centered lattice.
For a 3-dimensional lattice, the steps are analogous, but in step 2 instead of drawing perpendicular lines, perpendicular planes are drawn at the midpoint of the lines between the lattice points. As in the case of all primitive cells, all area or space within the lattice can be filled by Wigner–Seitz cells and there will be no gaps.
A crystal system is described by three vectors. In the monoclinic system, the crystal is described by vectors of unequal lengths, as in the orthorhombic system. They form a parallelogram prism. Hence two pairs of vectors are perpendicular (meet at right angles), while the third pair makes an angle other than 90°.