Flexi Says: The majority of solids are crystalline in nature. A crystal is a substance in which the particles are arranged in an orderly, repeating, three-dimensional pattern. Particles of a solid crystal may be ions, atoms, or molecules, depending on the type of substance. The three-dimensional arrangement of a solid crystal is referred to as the crystal lattice. Different arrangements of the particles within a crystal cause them to adopt several different shapes. Crystals are classified into general categories based on their shapes. A crystal is defined by its faces, which intersect with one another at specific angles, which are characteristic of the given substance. The seven crystal systems are shown below, along with an example of each. The edge lengths of a crystal are represented by the letters a, b, and c. The angles at which the faces intersect are represented by the Greek letters α, β, and γ. Each of the seven crystal systems differs in terms of the angles between the faces and in the number of edges of equal length on each face.
