The Basics of Crystallography and Diffraction: Third Edition (International Union of Crystallography Texts on Crystallography) [Paperback]

Christopher Hammond (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0199546452 | ISBN-13: 978-0199546459 | Publication Date: June 15, 2009 | Edition: 3

This book provides a clear introduction to topics which are essential to students in a wide range of scientific disciplines but which are otherwise only covered in specialised and mathematically detailed texts. It shows how crystal structures may be built up from simple ideas of atomic packing and co-ordination, it develops the concepts of crystal symmetry, point and space groups by way of two dimensional examples of patterns and tilings, it explains the concept of the reciprocal lattice in simple terms and shows its importance in an understanding of light, X-ray and electron diffraction. Practical examples of the applications of these techniques are described and also the importance of diffraction in the performance of optical instruments.

The book is also of value to the general reader since it shows, by biographical and historical references, how the subject has developed and thereby indicates some of the excitement of scientific discovery.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Review from previous edition: "This is a timely, well-constructed book which should be seriously considered by every teacher of crystallography and can be recommended to anyone who wants to get to grips with crystallography and diffraction." --Journal of Microscopy

"The book is aimed at students in all the disciplines which use crystallographic methods. If they are seriously interested in crystallography, this book is as close to ideal as they are likely to get, and very good value too. I thoroughly recommend Hammond's book as an enjoyable way of re-visiting old haunts." --J.E.Chisholm, Mineralogical Magazine

"The fundamentals of crystallography and diffraction are set out in a convincing way in this book. The author has succeeded in explaining the two fields in a very communicative and relatively condensed way." --Journal Solid State Electrochemistry

"Throughout, this book is well written and thoughtfully illustrated. It provides an excellent grounding in crystallgraphy. It may be the only book that bewildered non-crystallographers need." --Microscopy and Imaging News

About the Author

Christopher Hammond is a Senior Lecturer at the Institute for Materials Research, at Leeds University, UK.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 3 edition (June 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0199546452
• ISBN-13: 978-0199546459
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #419,304 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #36 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Chemistry > Crystallography

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Dichotomy between author and students, December 20, 2011

By 

MatSciJH - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Basics of Crystallography and Diffraction: Third Edition (International Union of Crystallography Texts on Crystallography) (Paperback)

I used this text for a course on material structures in which we covered most of this book for about half the semester and then moved onto topics such as polymer structure, liquid crystals, and basic quantum mechanics behind orbitals and the formation of atomic bonds. I must say the most painful parts of the course were those covered in this book. We used another text created by the professor in lieu of chapter one, and the difference was remarkable. Fairly easy topics are shrouded in heavy text and lack of clear explanations. I had alternate sources for each and every chapter in the book because the book never provided enough information to truly grasp the material.

Most sections go as follows: historical and other non-important details mixed with some useful information, then an introduction to a new topic and why it's useful, a short but inadequate explanation of the topic, skips the section where a student would learn to arrive at a conclusion, states the conclusion without a real explanation. This approach works fine for some chapters and horribly for others (the Ewald sphere chapter is a nightmare).

I'm sure this seems great to someone who already knows the material (it proved awesome for studying for the final since my mind was filling in the blanks in the text), but it really is lacking as a teaching text. It's not set up like a textbook (no examples and few exercises), and should not be used as one.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, February 15, 2010

By 

BillyJoeBob (Palo Alto) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Basics of Crystallography and Diffraction: Third Edition (International Union of Crystallography Texts on Crystallography) (Paperback)

This book represents a fair introduction to the world of crystallography and crystal structure determination. The chapters on structure determination are the best, although some of the more advanced material, e.g. EBSD, is lightly sketched, and should perhaps have been omitted.

The early chapters are somewhat more problematic: much is stated about crystal structures without justification, and this makes for a hard and often unilluminating read. Overall, though, the author has succeeding in writing a reasonable introductory text for a difficult field.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars basic crystallography, September 14, 2009

By 

Gilberto Artioli "UNIPD" (Padova, Italy) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Basics of Crystallography and Diffraction: Third Edition (International Union of Crystallography Texts on Crystallography) (Paperback)

An excellent basic textook on crystallography, which is a absolutely necessary discipline for everybody concerned with the solid state and encompassing disciplines such as materials science, metallurgy, solid state physics, inorganic and organic chemistry, macromolecular biochemistry, mineralogy and petrology, etc. The textbook represents a solid introduction to the field and a nice primer to be used in introductory courses. It is to be followed by the more complete "Fundamentals of Crystallography" by C. Giacovazzo and co-authors.