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How do cleavage faces differ from crystal faces?

2006-12-12 12:05:39 · 2 answers · asked by Jaime 2 in Science & Mathematics Earth Sciences & Geology

2 answers

Haha he said cleavage

2006-12-12 12:08:03 · answer #1 · answered by Cartman 2 · 0 2

Cleavage, in mineralogy, is the tendency of crystalline materials to split along definite planes, creating smooth surfaces, of which there are several named types:

Basal cleavage: cleavage parallel to the base of a crystal, or to the plane of the lateral axes. This occurs quite easily in graphite, making the material feel slippery.
Cubic cleavage: cleavage parallel to the faces of a cube. This is the source of the cubic shape seen in crystals of ground table salt (sodium chloride).
Diagonal cleavage: cleavage parallel to a diagonal plane.
Lateral cleavage: cleavage parallel to the lateral planes.
Octahedral, Dodecahedral, or Rhombohedral cleavage: cleavage parallel to the faces of an octahedron, dodecahedron, or rhombohedron (respectively). Octahedral cleavage is seen in common semiconductors (see below).
Prismatic cleavage, cleavage parallel to a vertical Prism.
This is of technical importance in the electronics industry and in the cutting of gemstones. While precious stones are generally cleaved by impact, man-made single crystals of semiconductor materials are generally sold as thin wafers which are much easier to cleave. Simply pressing a silicon wafer against a soft surface and scratching its edge with a diamond scribe is usually enough to cause cleavage; however, when dicing a wafer to form chips, a procedure of scoring and breaking is often followed for greater control. The vast majority of commercial semiconductors (Si, Ge, GaAs, InSb, etc.) are diamond cubic, a space group for which octahedral cleavage is observed. This means that some orientations of wafer allow near-perfect rectangles to be cleaved.

2006-12-12 20:18:47 · answer #2 · answered by fordperfect5 7 · 1 1

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