2020 – 09 – Crystal Formations in Metals

When metal has solid form, its atoms are packed together tightly. The atoms typically are arranged in a repeating pattern. This predictable pattern is called the metal’s crystal structure, or its space lattice system.
A particular metal is always going to have the same arrangement of atoms because the atoms arrange themselves in a way that uses the least amount of energy. A metal’s crystal structure is the most efficient arrangement of atoms in a given space.