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HOLOSYMMETRIC CLASS (Holohedral (ass,...

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Originally appearing in Volume V07, Page 575 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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HOLOSYMMETRIC CLASS (See also:Holohedral (See also:ass, whole) ; Hexakis-octahedral). Crystals of this class possess the full number of elements of symmetry already mentioned above for the See also:octahedron and the See also:cube,. viz. three cubic planes of symmetry, six dodecahedral planes, three tetrad axes of symmetry, four triad axes, six dyad axes, and a centre of symmetry. There are seven kinds of See also:simple forms, viz. : Cube (fig. 5). This is bounded by six square faces parallel to the cubic planes of symmetry; it is known also as the hexahedron. The angles between the faces are 90°, and the indices of the See also:form are {too}. See also:Salt, fluorspar and See also:galena crystallize in simple cubes. Octahedron (fig. 3). Bounded by eight equilateral triangular faces perpendicular to the triad axes of symmetry. The angles between the faces are 70° 32' and too° 28', and the indices are 11111.

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Spinel, See also:magnetite and See also:gold crystallize in simple octahedra. Combinations. of the cube and octahedron are shown in See also:figs. 6-8. Rhombic See also:dodecahedron (fig. 13). Bounded by twelve rhombshaped faces parallel to the six dodecahedral planes of symmetry. The angles between the normals to adjacent faces are 6o°, andbetween other pairs of faces 9o°; the indices are {1Io}. See also:Garnet frequently crystallizes in this form. Fig.. 14 shows the rhombic dodecahedron in See also:combination with the octahedron. In these three simple forms of the cubic See also:system (which are shown in combination in fig. I I) the angles between the faces and the indices are fixed and are the same in all crystals; in the four remaining simple forms they are variable.

Triakis-octahedron (three-faced octahedron) (fig. 15). This solid is bounded by twenty-four isosceles triangles, and may be considered as an octahedron with a See also:

low triangular See also:pyramid on each of its faces. As the inclinations of the faces may vary there is a See also:series of these forms with the indices {221}, {331}, {3321, &c. or in See also:general {hhk}. Icositetrahedron (fig. 17). Bounded by twenty-four trapezoidal faces, and` hence sometimes called a " trapezohedron." ' The indices are 12111, {3.11}, {322}, &c., or in general {hkk). See also:Analcite, See also:leucite and garnet often crystallize in the simple form {211}. Combinations are shown in figs. 18-20. The See also:plane ABe in fig. 9 is one See also:face (112) of an icositetrahedron; the indices of the remaining faces in this octant being (211) and (121).

Tetrakis-hexahedron (four-faced cube) (figs. 21 and 22). Like the triakis-octahedron this solid is also bounded by twenty-four isosceles triangles, but here grouped in fours over the cubic faces. The two figures show how, with different inclinations of the faces, the form may vary, approximating in fig. 21 to the cube and in fig. 22 to the rhombic dodecahedron. The angles over the edges lettered A are different from the angles over the edges lettered C. Each face is parallel to one of the crystallographic axes and intercepts the two FIG. 23.—Combination of others in different lengths; the in- Tetrakis-hexahedron and dices are therefore {210}, 131o}, {320}, Cube. &c., in general ihko}. Fluorspar some- times crystallizes in the simple form {310} ; more usually, however, in combination with the cube (fig. 23).

Hexakis-octahedron (fig. 24). Here each face of the octahedron is replaced by six scalene triangles. so that altogether there are J (h2+k2+12) (1'+q2+See also:

r2) The angles between faces with the same indices are thus the same in all substances which crystallize in the cubic system: in other systems. the angles vary with the substance and are characteristic of it. See also:forty-eight faces. This is the greatest number of faces possible for any simple form in crystals. The faces are all oblique to the planes and axes of symmetry, and they intercept the three crystallographic axes in different lengths, hence the indices are all unequal, being in general lhkl}, or in particular cases 13211, 14211, 4321, &c. Such a form is known as the " general form " of the class. The interfacial angles over the three edges of each triangle are all different. These forms usually exist only in combination with other cubic forms (for example, fig. 25), but {4211has been observed as a simple form on fluorspar. Several examples of substances which crystallize in this class have been mentioned above under the different forms; many others might be cited—for instance, the metals See also:iron, See also:copper, See also:silver, gold, See also:platinum, See also:lead, See also:mercury, and the non-metallic elements See also:silicon and See also:phosphorus.

End of Article: HOLOSYMMETRIC CLASS (Holohedral (ass, whole)

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