ESO205 - 2019 Revised - Slide Set 06

Symmetry of Crystals
Rotational Symmetry

Dr. Gouthama
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology
Kanpur
 Recap
Symmetry Operations
• An object (e.g., a small molecular or a macroscopically
large piece of a materials) is said to have symmetry when
there is an exact correspondence of its constituent parts on
opposite sides of a dividing line or plane or about a center
or an axis.
• A state in which parts on opposite sides of a plane, line, or
point display arrangements that are related to one another
via a symmetry operation such as translation, rotation,
reflection or inversion.
• Application of the symmetry operators leaves the entire
object (crystal ) unchanged.
• Symmetry theory provides a valuable set of concepts for
specification of structure.
 Symmetry Theory Recap
Symmetry operations and Symmetry elements
Symmetry operations: All repetition operations are called symmetry operations.
Symmetry consists of the repetition of a pattern by the application of specific rules.
Elementary symmetry operations can be used to repeat a small structural unit
indefinitely and thereby provide a convenient set of efficient descriptors for a
complicated structure. Four basic symmetry operations are: translations, rotation,
reflection and inversion.
Application of a symmetry operation to an object which has that symmetry
leaves the object indistinguishable from its state before the symmetry operation was
applied.
An object or a collection of objects having a particular symmetry is superimposed
indefinitely by successive application of that symmetry operation.

Symmetry elements: When a symmetry operation has a ‘locus’ that is a point, a line
or a plane that is left unchanged by the operation, this locus is referred to as the
symmetry element.
We can investigate an object or collection of objects and locate and characterise
various symmetry elements that are present, thereby identifying a minimum set of
features based on symmetry theory from which a compact description of the
structure can be given.
 Recap
Translation symmetry
• A pattern possesses translational symmetry if
the surroundings viewed from an abritrary
origin O are identical to the surroundings
viewed from a point separated from O by a
vector t.
• If t is a translational symmetry operation for a
pattern, then all of the vectors T =nt are
translational symmetry operations for all
interger values of n
Recap
 Operations of the ‘First sort’ and ‘Second sort’
• Any operation which , acting on a motif, produces a congruent
motif is call an operation of the first sort. Translations, rotations
and screw motions are the only operations of first sort.
• Objects which are mirror images are obviously ‘equal’ in some way,
yet are not congruent. The ‘equality’ of two such incongruent
objects is described by saying that they are enantiomorphic. Any
operation which has the property of causing an object to come into
coincidence with its enantiomorph is called an operation of the
second sort. The 2 operation of second sort are: mirror and center
of inversion.
• If an operation of the second sort is combined with an opertion of
the first sort to make a single operation, the resulting combined
operation is an operation of the second sot. Eg. A reflection
conbined with a translation parallel to the mirror. This operation is
called a glide reflection. Rotation-reflection and rotation-
inversions are other possible combination of symmetry operations.
 Repetition of an object
• Enantiomorphs: asymmetric objects can be right-handed
or left-handed – e.g., a pair of boots.
• A right-handed object gets repeated as its left-handed
pair by a reflection.
• In 3-D, the enantiomorphs are related by reflection across
a plane passing halfway between them – mirror plane
 Symmetry elements:
mirror plane and inversion center

Enantiomorph

The handedness is changed.

Note:
Dotted lines have no
Significance. The small circle
is the inversion centre.
All points in the inverted space
Passes through this point.
Symmetry Elements

Mirror plane or Reflection

flips all points in the asymmetric unit

over a line, which is called the mirror,
and thereby changes the handedness of
any figures in the asymmetric unit.
The points along the mirror line
are all invariant points (points that map
onto themselves) under a reflection.
 Repetition by rotation
• An symmetrical object, can take indistiguisable position,
i.e., come into self coincidence after certain angle of
rotation.
• When a rotation repeats a right, a right, a right, etc., it is
called a proper rotation axes.
• If the sequence of repetition is aright, a left, a right,…etc.,
it is called a ‘improper rotation axes.
 Proper rotation axes
• A proper rotationnal symmetry axis Aα, is a line A about
which all space is repeated after successive rotations by an
angle α.
• There is no prefered sense of rotation to a rotation axis.
Additional reading - 01

ROTATIONAL SYMMETRY COMPATIBLE

WITH TRANSLATIONAL SYMMETRY

For information only

For information only
For information only
For information only
 All proper axes of rotations and the position
of the motif , ‘’asymmetric number ‘7’ used
to illutrate the arrangement of motifs in space
around the axis.
 Rotoreeflection and rotoinversion

This is a composite symmetry operation. ‘Improper axis’ is used

Because we know a combination of a ‘operation of first kind’
comined with a ‘second kind’ results in an operation of second kind.
 Rotation with Inversion
(Rotoinversion)
Equivalency to other symmetry operations

For information only

Comparison of Roto-reflections and Roto-inversions

  
  

  
    


  
  

 
     


 = motif above the plane  = motif above the plane

   
  

  
     

  
  

 
     


 = motif above the plane  = motif above the plane

 Rotoreeflection and rotoinversion compared

Asymmentric Motif above is open circle and Same arrangement of

same symmetric motif below is shown as a ‘X’ , and Motifs is shown by
circle with the cross ……….illustrates above the plane arrows of
\ and exact below the plane placement of motifs. Diferent colours
Illustration of ‘inversion centre’Asymmetric motif used is number ‘7’
Note: The first column and second column shows the equivalent
Motif arrangement of these improper axes. By convention we do not
Use any rotoreflection axes and only the rotoinversion.
 Concept
Two or more positions of a body that are indistinguishable
from one another are self coincident positions
Definition
A symmetry operation is any operation that can be performed on
a body to transform it to self coincidence

A rotation axis of symmetry is any line about which a body may be

rotated to one or more positions of self coincidence

An axis is any line in a pattern or lattice that serves a useful purpose

in specifying the property of that pattern or lattice
An n-fold rotation axis of symmetry is a line about which a body is
transformed to self coincidence n times during a 360° rotation.
The angle θ between the self coincident positions is 360°/ θ
 Concept
The rotational symmetry of a plane pattern depends not
only in the rotational symmetry of the lattice but also on
the shape of the motif.

The highest rotational symmetry which occurs in a plane

pattern is the rotational symmetry of the plane lattice.
 Definition
A mirror plane of symmetry is any plane which divides a body into halves that
are mirror images of one another across the plane.

A body has a centre of symmetry if for every point in it there is an identical point
equidistant from the centre but on the opposite side.

Concept
Depending ion the shape of the motif, the number of mirror planes in a plane
pattern may be less than the number in the lattice of the pattern.

Unit cells of all plane lattices have a centre of symmetry.

A body is inverted through a centre of symmetry by projecting every point of it to

a new location exactly the same distance from the centre but on the opposite
side.
Whether a unit cell of a plane pattern has a centre of symmetry depends on the
shape of the motif.
 Material

Point group

crystal morphology
 Material

Point group

crystal morphology
Crystal morphology: A Snowflake Molecular arrangement in water
What is symmetry of this creative posture by the synchronized swimmers ?

It will be different when you consider the colour of swim-suit and

ignore colour it is going to be different.
 What is symmetry of this Photograph?
I doubt the originality of this picture? Do you agree or disagree?
Nature allows a living animal with 5-fold axis but
in cyrstallography it is a ‘forbidden rotation axis’’
Nature at work: “Keep it Simple”
Mirror Symmetry in living world

A flower A butterfly
 "Passion Flower" Passiflora
( From Wikipedia)

Passiflora, known also as the passion flowers or passion vines, is a genus of about 550 species of flowering
plants, the type genus of the family Passifloraceae.