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Spinel part 1

Spinel, part 2

view Spinel in stereo

Another perspective on spinel comes from looking at its unit shell (counter-intuitive, I know). First we show the Mg atoms, which form an fcc aray, plus 4 more atoms inside the cube. Those 4 are circled in blue.

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Next we add the Aluminum atoms, connecting their tetrahedra. You'll notice that the 4 outer tetrahedra, and the 4 inner Mg atoms sit on spots mirroring eachother.

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Lastly we add the oxygen atoms.

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If you're up for it, it is worth it to see the structure in STEREO.


Spinel part 1
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