Crystallography: A Very Short Introduction. By A. M. Glazer. Oxford University Press, 2016. Pp. 168. Price GBP 7.99. ISBN 9780198717591.
Crystallography: A Very Short Introduction. By A. M. Glazer. Oxford University Press, 2016. Pp. 168. Price GBP 7.99. ISBN 9780198717591.
复制标题
晶体学：非常简短的介绍。
DOI：
10.1107/s2053273316018829
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发表时间：
2017
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
C. Lecomte
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
C. Lecomte
这本书是一个新的卷出版的一部分，牛津大学的“非常简短的介绍”系列，其目的是让容易获得各种科目。在介绍晶体学在科学中的作用的非常一般的序言之后，这本168页的书分为六章。第一章题为“悠久的历史”是一个非常有据可查的章节，可能是本书中最好的一章;它清楚地定义了大多数概念和所有步骤，从开普勒1611年的小册子到现代X射线晶体学：对称性，X射线衍射，矿物，有机和蛋白质结构。我很遗憾，作者用石英棱镜的例子来强调六重对称性（图3）：这不是错误的，但它可能会使读者认为石英以六角点群结晶（除非他描述高温相！）。这一历史章节也很有趣，因为它简要地描述了该领域大多数重要先驱的生活与他们的研究有关：例如，作者讲述了对W。L.通过复制1927年发表在《自然》杂志上的一封令人惊讶的信，将布拉格的NaCl结构模型（1915年）和离子键模型（第19页）联系起来。第2章专门讨论对称性。这是一个非常短的章节，写得很好，没有任何数学;对称概念，点群和布拉维格清楚地介绍。使用卷积工具描述晶体结构和空间群。然而，令人惊讶的是，作者从来没有引用赫尔曼-莫甘空间群符号，这是在国际晶体学表A卷中使用的;他似乎更喜欢“国际符号”一词，但舍恩弗利斯符号也被认为是一个国际符号。第三章介绍了从紧密堆积到蛋白质结构的晶体结构类型。标题为“紧密堆积”的段落实际上描述了最重要的无机结构类型及其一些与生物学相关的性质，如压电性。我喜欢关于简单晶体结构的布拉维晶格的讨论。多晶型是为碳元素介绍的，但没有在“有机结构”一段中讨论，这是一个真实的遗憾：这一段真的太短了，根本不是最新的。它没有描述多晶型在制药工业、材料科学和晶体生长研究中的关键作用;甚至没有讨论晶体工程和共晶的新的重要概念。由于书中描述了一些矿物的物理性质，快速调查了分子材料的物理性质（磁性，光学，磁性等）会很受欢迎的这句话也适用于“晶体生长”这一段，这是专门用于矿物材料和蛋白质。生物分子（蛋白质，病毒，DNA）的描述更详细。第4、5和6章描述了使用X射线（常规管、同步加速器和自由电子激光）、中子和电子的衍射方法。第4章用纯粹的几何方法介绍衍射概念：首先，定义倒易晶格，并突然用它来解释已知布拉格定律的埃瓦尔德球概念（在第15页介绍过）。然后用卷积定理解释衍射图案，但没有写物质与X射线，中子或电子之间的相互作用。我认为向读者展示X射线、中子或电子分别被原子的电子密度、核和磁密度或静电势散射[或由ISSN 2053-2733产生]是极其重要的
This book is a new volume published as part of the Oxford ‘Very Short Introduction’ series, which aims to give easy access to various subjects. After a very general preface, which introduces the role of crystallography in science, this 168-page book is divided into six chapters. Chapter 1 entitled ‘A long history’ is a very well documented chapter and may be the best chapter of the book; it clearly defines most concepts and all the steps in building the science of crystallography from Kepler’s 1611 pamphlet to modern X-ray crystallography: symmetry, X-ray diffraction, mineral, organic and protein structures. I just regret that the author gives the example of the quartz prism to highlight sixfold (Fig. 3) symmetry: it is not false but it may cause the reader to think that quartz crystallizes in a hexagonal point group (unless he describes the high-temperature phase!). This historical chapter is also interesting because it briefly describes the life of most of the important pioneers of the field in relation to their research: for example, the author relates the strong opposition to W. L. Bragg’s model of the NaCl structure (1915) and to the ionic bonding (p. 19) by reproducing an amazing letter published in Nature in 1927. Chapter 2 is devoted to symmetry. It is a very short chapter, well written and without any mathematics; symmetry concepts, point groups and Bravais lattices are clearly introduced. Crystal structure and space groups are described using the convolution tool. However, it is surprising that the author never cites the Hermann–Mauguin space-group symbol which is used in Volume A of International Tables for Crystallography; he seems to prefer the term ‘International Notation’, but the Schoenflies symbol is also recognized as an international notation. Chapter 3 describes the crystal-structure types from close packing to protein structures. The paragraph entitled ‘Close packing’ in fact describes the most important inorganic structure types and some of their symmetry-related properties like piezoelectricity. I liked the discussion about the Bravais lattices of simple crystal structures. Polymorphism is introduced for the element carbon but is not discussed in the ‘Organic structures’ paragraph, which is a real pity: this paragraph is really too short and not at all up to date. It does not describe the key role of polymorphism in the pharmaceutical industry, in material science and in crystal-growth research; even the new, important concepts of crystal engineering and co-crystals are not discussed. As the book describes the physical properties of some minerals, a quick survey of the physical properties of the molecular materials (magnetism, optics, dielectrics etc.) would have been very welcome. This remark holds also for the paragraph ‘Crystal growth’, which is devoted to mineral materials and proteins. Biological molecules (proteins, virus, DNA) are described in more detail. Chapters 4, 5 and 6 describe diffraction methods using X-rays (conventional tube, synchrotron and free-electron laser), neutrons and electrons. Chapter 4 introduces the diffraction concepts using a purely geometrical approach: first, the reciprocal lattice is defined and abruptly used to explain the Ewald sphere concept knowing the Bragg law (introduced much earlier, p. 15). Then the diffraction pattern is explained using the convolution theorem, but nothing is written about the interaction between matter and X-rays, neutrons or electrons. I think that it is extremely important to show the reader that X-rays, neutrons or electrons are, respectively, scattered by the electron density, the nuclear and magnetic density or the electrostatic potential of the atoms [or generated by ISSN 2053-2733