The general appreciation of the geometric characteristics of crystals was initiated by Huygens and by Hooke in the 17th century and substantiated by the classic X-ray diffraction experiments of Laue. These very X-ray investigations, however, while confirming the general geometric postulates, also brought the realization that although certain minute units might themselves be perfect, disalignment or other imperfections existed; this led Darwin to propose a mosaic type of structure. Since that time, a wealth of information has been accumulated regarding the nature and extent of “defects” in crystals and a continually developing appreciation for their significance in chemical and physical properties.
Defects in a crystalline solid can best be appreciated by subdivision into four broad classes. Of these, the first are the electronic defects, due to photon interaction, which will always be present even in theoretically pure and geometrically perfect assemblies of ions. These defects can...
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References
Cotrell, A. H., 1953. Dislocations and Plastic Flow in Crystals. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 223p.
Gray, T. J., 1957. Defect Solid State. New York: Interscience Pub., 511p.
Wert, C. A., and Thomson, R. M., 1964. Physics of Solids. New York: McGraw-Hill, 436p.
Cross-references
Crystal Growth; Crystallography: Morphological; Etch Pits; Order-Disorder; Plastic Flow in Minerals.
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© 1981 Hutchinson Ross Publishing Company
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Gray, T.J. (1981). Crystals, defects in . In: Mineralogy. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30720-6_32
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30720-6_32
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