Of celestial spheres and floaty discs 3

This textbook covers the fundamentals of crystallography, symmetry and diffraction of several classes of materials. The first half looks at the basics of crystallography, discussing bonding, crystal systems, symmetry, point groups and concepts of diffraction. The other half is more advanced, applying structural determination methods to the study of a broad range of materials.

Who is it for? Advanced undergraduates or graduates doing degree courses on crystallography within materials science and engineering.

Presentation: Excellent.

Any extras? Solutions, data files for crystal structures and appendices available at publisher's website.

Would you recommend it? Highly, it's an engaging, detailed overview of the tools needed to describe the atomic and molecular structure of solids.

David W. Hughes is professor of astronomy at Sheffield University.