Question:medium

If the length of the body diagonal of a FCC unit cell is \( x \, \text{Å} \), the distance between two octahedral voids in the cell in \( \text{Å} \) is:

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In FCC crystals, the relationship between the body diagonal and the edge length is \( \text{Body Diagonal} = \sqrt{3} \cdot \text{Edge Length} \). This can be used to compute the distance between voids.
Updated On: Nov 26, 2025
  • \( \frac{x}{\sqrt{2}} \)
  • \( \frac{x}{\sqrt{3}} \)
  • \( \frac{x}{\sqrt{6}} \)
  • \( \frac{x}{\sqrt{8}} \)
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The Correct Option is C

Solution and Explanation

In a face-centered cubic (FCC) unit cell, octahedral voids occupy the body center and edge centers. The distance between two such voids is calculated as follows: Step 1: The length of the body diagonal is determined by: \[ x = \sqrt{3}a, \] where \( a \) represents the edge length of the unit cell. Step 2: The edge length \( a \) can be expressed in terms of the body diagonal length \( x \) as: \[ a = \frac{x}{\sqrt{3}}. \] Step 3: The distance between two octahedral voids lies along the body diagonal. Given their positions at the body center and edge centers, this distance is: \[ \text{Distance} = \frac{a}{\sqrt{2}}. \] Substituting the expression for \( a \) from Step 2: \[ \text{Distance} = \frac{\frac{x}{\sqrt{3}}}{\sqrt{2}} = \frac{x}{\sqrt{3} \cdot \sqrt{2}} = \frac{x}{\sqrt{6}}. \] Final Answer: \[ \boxed{\frac{x}{\sqrt{6}}} \]
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