Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-materials-science-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2022/paper-1/1/a/i/solution
Past exam of the materials science course of the University of Cambridge 2022 Paper 1 1 a i Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
A periodic crystal cannot have a fivefold crystallographic rotation axis. The crystallographic restriction theorem permits rotation orders for a periodic Bravais lattice. A rotation cannot preserve such a lattice. This restriction concerns exact symmetry of the infinite crystal structure; an isolated finite cluster with fivefold symmetry is a different object.
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