a = b = 2r and c = 2r. Thus, the ratio c:a = 1, and it can be shown that the packing efficiency of this three dimensional lattice is only about 60% (compared to 74% for closest packing), even though the atoms are closest packed in two dimensions.
| Introduction |
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a plane, spheres of equal size are most densely packed (with the
least amount of empty space) when each sphere touches six other spheres
arranged in the form of a regular hexagon.
a = b = 2r and c = 2r. Thus, the ratio c:a = 1, and it can be shown that the packing efficiency of this three dimensional lattice is only about 60% (compared to 74% for closest packing), even though the atoms are closest packed in two dimensions. |
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