CrystalWalk: crystal structures, step by step

Abstract

CrystalWalk is a crystal editor and visualization software designed for teaching materials science and engineering. Based on WebGL/HTML5, it provides an accessible and interactive platform to students and teachers by introducing a simplified crystallographic approach that creates crystal structures by combining a lattice with a motif without the use of its internal symmetry. CrystalWalk is the first software to use solely translational symmetry, aiming to introduce engineering students to the basic concepts of lattice and motif. Although very restrictive from the crystallographic point of view, CrystalWalk makes it simple for students to experiment, reproduce and visualize, in an interactive manner, most of the crystal structures that are commonly introduced in materials science and engineering curricula.