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Cubic crystals are not always cube shaped!
There are many that are shaped like octahedrons (eight faces), and some
that are shaped like dodecahedrons (12 faces). |
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Tetragonal crystals are shaped like cubic crystals but
are longer in one direction making shapes like double pyramids and prisms. |
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Orthorhombic crystals are often shaped like rhombic prisms
or dipyramids (two pyramids stuck together). They often look a bit like
tetragonal crystals except that they are not square in cross section (when
you look at the crystal on end). |
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Hexagonal crystals often look like six-sided prisms.
When you look at the crystal on end, it looks like a hexagon shape in cross
section. |
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Monoclinic crystals look like tetragonal crystals that
have been skewed. They often form prism shapes and double pyramids. |
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Triclinic crystals are sometimes very strange shapes!
They are usually not symmetrical from one side to the other. |
