A crystal structure is a unique arrangement of atoms, molecules or ions in a crystal.
It is composed of a motif, which is a set of atoms arranged in a particular way, and a lattice.
Motifs are located upon the points of lattice, which is an array of points repeating periodically in three dimensions.
Traditionally, crystallography is the study of crystals and describing them according to geometrical observations.
This involves measurement of the crystal faces in relation to their imaginary crystal axes (using a goniometer) and symmetry.
X-ray crystallography is a tool used for determining the atomic and molecular structure of a crystal.
The underlying principle is that the crystalline atoms cause a beam of X-rays to diffract into many specific directions (Fig. 2.10).