Symmetry and Space
Group Tutorial
by Jerry P. Jasinski and Bruce M. Foxman
(Mac-compatible version
by Ian S. Batson)
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 or Mac
1.55m, 02 December 2015) 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to users’ comments that links soon became outdated or changed,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 (or [NEW!] a
Mac with MS PowerPoint installed (note that there is a
separate download link for each version). The download is now
completely unprotected (!!!) and should also run on Mac
computers with PowerPoint installed. See the special
notes regarding the beta Mac version below.
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 PC Version (1.55) of 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.
Download Mac Version (1.55m) of Tutorial (Compressed
Version, 37.2 Mb)
Once the zipped file above has finished downloading,
look for “symandsg.zip" in your downloads
folder. Double click the icon in order to unzip the file. The unzipped folder must be moved to your Applications
folder in order to ensure the proper functioning of the embedded
hyperlinks. Once saved, click into the SYMANDSG folder and open START HERE.ppt
to begin the tutorial. SHORTCUT.ppt (located within the same folder as START
HERE.ppt) can be moved to your desktop (or any other folder) for more
convenient access. Do not attempt to move the “Main” folder, or any file
contained therein, or all the links embedded within the Powerpoint
will be broken. The tutorial contains
historical, professional, and pedagogic links to online resources. Safari and
Firefox are known to be appropriate default browsers. When you
are finished viewing the resource, you can return to the presentation by
selecting the Powerpoint icon on your task bar. Let
us know if there are any problems, as
this is a beta version for the Macintosh OS. The tutorial links have been
tested with only the latest versions of browsers with an up-to-date
Macintosh OS platform. If erratic behavior is encountered, that may be 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 XP,
Windows 7, 8 and 10, and
having legal versions of Powerpoint
2000 and later (including 2013). We welcome comments on the new Mac version.
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); Mac tutorial issues to Bruce and Ian Batson as well (ibatson at brandeis.edu)
Bruce Foxman
(
foxman1 at brandeis.edu ) Last updated 28 December 2015