Polycrystal
1898176
203199899
2008-04-04T02:25:11Z
98.207.50.162
[[WP:UNDO|Undid]] revision 203172158 by [[Special:Contributions/69.182.74.190|69.182.74.190]] ([[User talk:69.182.74.190|talk]])
[[Image:Grain-oriented electrical steel (grains).jpg|thumb|right|A photo of [[electrical steel]] (coating removed) showing polycrystalline structure]]
A '''polycrystal''' is a material that is made of many smaller [[crystallite]]s with varying orientation. The variation in direction can be random (called random texture) or directed, possibly due to growth and processing conditions. Fiber texture is an example of the latter.
''Cf.'' [[monocrystal]].
Almost all common [[metal]]s, and many [[ceramic]]s are polycrystalline. The crystallites are often referred to as grains.
However, grains can themselves be polycrystalline<ref>[http://old.iupac.org/goldbook/P04723.pdf polycrystalline graphite<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>.
Polycrystalline is a structure of a solid, such as brass, that when cooled form liquid crystals formed from different points within it. This creates many crystals within a structure, where these crystals meet is known as a grain boundary.
== References ==
<references/>
==See also==
* [[crystallography]]
* [[grain boundary]]
[[Category:Crystals]]
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[[ja:多結晶]]
[[pl:Polikryształ]]
[[ru:Поликристалл]]
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