Simple Cubic Unit Cell

Materials Science

How It Works

The simple cubic (SC) crystal structure consists of an atom located at each of the eight corners of a cubic unit cell. Each corner atom is shared equally among eight adjacent unit cells, giving an effective total of exactly one net atom per cell with a coordination number of 6. Because atoms touch along the cube edges, the atomic packing factor is approximately 0.524, leaving substantial interstitial void space.

Governing Equation
APF = (N_{atoms} · V_{atom}) / V_{unit} = (1 · 4 / 3π r^3) / (2r)^3 = π / 6 ≈ 0.524