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2. Soil and subsoil materials
Rocks, the constituent materials of the earth's crust, are made up mainly of an assemblage of minerals, whether consolidated or loose.
2.1 Minerals, elemental constituents
Minerals are composed of atoms that are usually arranged in a spatially-ordered manner, in a periodic lattice called "crystalline". In rare cases, however, rocks do not present a crystalline ordered state of matter, but a disordered assembly of atoms, as in the case of volcanic "glass" (obsidian, etc.).
The crystal lattice of a mineral is organized around a primitive mesh; there are 7 types of mesh, which determine the 7 types of crystal systems that structure all identified minerals.
The smallest rock...
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