Symmetry and Space Group
Tutorial
by Jerry P. Jasinski
and Bruce M. Foxman
Knowledge of space groups and the implications of space group symmetry
on the
physical and chemical properties of solids are pivotal factors in all
areas of
structural science. As we met to bring our ideas in teaching this
subject to
life, we both felt that “early and often” – teaching the concepts with
textual
and visual reinforcement, are key to
providing a sound
basis for students in this subject. The tutorial contains > 200
PowerPoint "slides", in five modules, arranged by crystal class; a
sixth module covers special topics. A "credits" module gives the direct
addresses of all links. Space group diagrams appear in
International Tables format.
In
the latest version
(v1.55, 09 February 2007) available on
this site, the triclinic and monoclinic groups (2+13) are built from
"scratch", and are derived from the Hermann-Mauguin
symbol. An additional section provides practice on many (but not all)
of the
orthorhombic groups in crystal class 222. Finally, a "Special
Topics" section on enantiomorphous space
groups
features space groups P41 and P43.
In the tutorial, lattice points build iteratively & interactively
with keyclick, and
the coordinates of points "pop up" as the unit cell is filled.
We hope that the elements of guidance, inquiry and occasional humor
will make
the learning process enjoyable. Support by the National Science
Foundation
through grants DMR-0504000 (
Version
1.55 contains many corrections to the previous version (1.33), and
INCLUDES ALL
EXTERNAL LINKS. The latter change was
made in response to users’ comments that links soon became outdated or
changed,
and many of the links in version 1.33 were broken as of Summer
2006. A new section includes the
complete references to all of the links bundled with the new version. In order for the bundled links to run
successfully, the tutorial must be installed in a specific directory
(C:\symandsg). Full instructions are
given below.
The tutorial will run
on a PC with MS PowerPoint installed. The download is now completely
unprotected (!!!) and should also run on Mac computers with PowerPoint
installed; some Mac users report an occasional need for font corrections.
PLEASE
DO NOT EDIT THE RAW POWERPOINT FILES - RATHER, NOTIFY US OF ERRORS AND
WE"LL MAKE THE CHANGES SO ALL CAN BENEFIT FROM CORRECTIONS!
Please fill in these details
to help us track usage of the program. You will not be sent unsolicited
email.
You may be notified of important updates if you request them by leaving the
check in the box below:
Download Tutorial (Compressed
Version, 32.7 Mb)
Once the .zipped file
above has
been downloaded, the tutorial must be installed in the specific
directory “C:\symandsg”.
Note that the folder "Main" must appear
at the top level of that directory, or all links will be broken.
A
shortcut provided in that directory may be moved to the desktop if
desired, or
the program may be run directly from the directory by double-clicking
on the
shortcut in the directory. The tutorial contains historical,
professional
and pedagogic links; browser behavior varies with version and
"brand". Returning to the tutorial from the browser seems to
work best in Mozilla/Netscape by
minimizing the
browser window. In IE, return to the tutorial works best using a
right-click, and selecting "Back". Let us know if there are any
problems. The
tutorial
links have been tested with only the latest versions of browsers. If erratic behavior is
encountered,
that is a source to consider.
We are no longer
supplying the
presentation with a bundled Powerpoint
Viewer – the present
version (thus far) has tested OK on local machines running W2K and XP,
and
having legal versions of Powerpoint
2000 or 2003.
There is a price for using this tutorial!!!! Please send feedback with
corrections,
suggestions, etc. We hope you will enjoy this material and will find it
useful.
Many thanks!
Send content and tutorial comments to
Bruce M. Foxman ( foxman1 at
brandeis.edu)
Bruce Foxman
(
foxman1 at brandeis.edu ) Last updated 16 February 2007