Cubic crystal system
In crystallography, the cubic crystal system is a crystal system where the unit cell is in the shape of a cube. This is one of the most common and simplest shapes found in crystals and minerals.
There are three main types of these crystals:
- Primitive cubic
- Body-centered cubic
- Face-centered cubic
Types
| Name | Description | Picture |
|---|---|---|
| Primitive cubic | One atom at each corner of the cube. | 
|
| Body-centered cubic | One atom at each corner of the cube, and one in the middle of the cube. | 
|
| Face-centered cubic | One atom at each corner of the cube, and one in the middle of each face (side) of the cube. | 
|
Cubic Crystal System Media
A network model of a primitive cubic system
The primitive and cubic close-packed (also known as face-centered cubic) unit cells
Visualisation of a diamond cubic unit cell: 1. Components of a unit cell, 2. One unit cell, 3. A lattice of 3 x 3 x 3 unit cells
A caesium chloride unit cell. The two colors of spheres represent the two types of atoms.
This graphic shows the interlocking simple cubic lattices of cesium and chlorine. You can see them separately and as they are interlocked in what looks like a body-centered cubic arrangement
The rock-salt crystal structure. Each atom has six nearest neighbours, with octahedral geometry.
