Applet by Multimedia Java Applications (MJA)

Different crystals have different shapes and forms because of the: stacking of the unit cells internal arrangement of the atoms and the environment in which they grow Crystal shapes (morphology) can be a valuable tool in mineral identification. Altogether there are 48 different types of crystal forms. To the left are examples of forms from the isometric crystal system. Click on the five different buttons in the applet (F=4, F=6, F=8, F=12, F=20) to view a cube, tetrahedron, octahedron, dodecahedron, and icosahedron (this form does not occur in minerals). You can either use the stop button or you can also try dragging the mouse on the figures to rotate them. Click on the pull down menu with choices color model, light model, metal model, wire model. Do you see the patterns? To see a complete list of crystal forms check out this link. You will need to scroll down the page to see the crystal forms.