If we plot φ (angle between the crystal plane and closed packed plane) vs E (total surface energy), all the low index planes should be located at________

If we plot φ (angle between the crystal plane and closed packed plane) vs E (total surface energy), all the low index planes should be located at________ Correct Answer Low energy cusps

It should be noted that the close-packed orientation (φ = 0) lies at a cusped minimum in the energy plot. Similar arguments can be applied to any crystal structure for rotations about any axis from any reasonably close-packed plane. All low-index planes should therefore be located at low-energy cusps.

Related Questions

In a cubic crystal, atoms of mass M1 lie on one set of planes and atoms of mass M2 lie on planes interleaved between those of the first set. If C is the forte constant between nearest neighbour planes, the frequency of lattice vibrations for the optical phonon branch with wave vector k = 0 is