Numerical answer
A metal of atomic mass crystallises in a face-centred cubic lattice with atomic radius (atoms touch along the face diagonal). Due to vacancy defects, of the lattice sites are unoccupied. Take . The density of the crystal (in ) is ____. Give the answer correct to two decimal places.
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Answer: 8.84
In an fcc lattice atoms touch along the face diagonal, so and . The volume of the unit cell is . A perfect fcc cell contains atoms, giving a density of . With of the sites vacant, the effective number of atoms per cell is , so the density is reduced in proportion: . Vacancies remove mass without changing the cell dimensions, so the density falls slightly below the ideal value; the lattice parameter itself is fixed by the atomic radius.
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