Rhombohedral Packing
Rhombohedral Packing :
(n.) Geology. The most compact arrangement in space of uniform spheres (atoms and molecules in mineral crystals, or grains in sedimentary rocks) that results in a structure having no more than 26% porosity. Rhombohedral packing is more stable mechanically than cubic packing. Cubic packing is the mostporous packing arrangement, with about 47% porosity in the ideal situation. Most sediments, however, are not uniform spheres of the same size, nor can they be arranged in a cubic structure naturally, so most sediments have much less than 47% porosity of ideal cubic packing and commonly less than the 26% porosity of ideal rhombohedral packing. See: Compaction, Cubic Packing, Mineral, Porosity, Sedimentary, Sorting
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