
Thelaw of constancy of interfacial angles (German:Das Gesetz der Winkelkonstanz;French:Loi de constance des angles) is anempirical law in the fields ofcrystallography andmineralogy concerning theshape, or morphology, of crystals. The law states that the angles between adjacent corresponding faces of crystals of a particular substance are always constant despite the different shapes, sizes, and mode of growth of crystals. The law is also named thefirst law of crystallography orSteno's law.

TheInternational Union of Crystallography (IUCr) gives the following definition: "The law of the constancy of interfacial angles (or 'first law of crystallography') states that the angles between the crystal faces of a given species are constant, whatever the lateral extension of these faces and the origin of the crystal, and are characteristic of that species."[1] The law is valid at constant temperature and pressure.[2]
This law is important in identifying different mineral species as small changes in atomic structure can lead to large differences in the angles between crystal faces.
The sum of the interfacial angle (external angle) and thedihedral angle (internal angle) between two adjacent faces sharing a common edge isπ radians (180°).

The law of the constancy of interfacial angles was first observed by the Danish physicianNicolas Steno when studying quartz crystals[3][4] (De solido intra solidum naturaliter contento, Florence, 1669),[5][6] who noted that, although the crystals differed in appearance from one to another, the angles between corresponding faces were always the same.[7]
The law was also observed byDomenico Guglielmini (Riflessioni filosofiche dedotte dalle figure de Sali, Bologna, 1688),[8] but it was generalized and firmly established byJean-Baptiste Romé de l'Isle (Cristallographie, Paris, 1783)[9] who accurately measured the interfacial angles of a great variety of crystals, using thegoniometer designed byArnould Carangeot and noted that the angles are characteristic of a substance.[10][11] Carangeot was a student of Romé de L’Isle at the time of his invention of the basic crystallographic measuring instrument.[12][13][14]
A French crystallographer,René Just Haüy, showed in 1784[15] that the known interfacial angles could be accounted for if the crystal were made up of minute building blocks (molécules intégrantes)[16] that correspond approximately to the present-dayunit cells.
In the diagram, the green dodecahedron on the left is built from cubical units, with the faces having aMiller index of (210). Unlike theregular dodecahedron on the right, its faces are not regular pentagons, but they are close to regular in appearance. The piling of the cubical units forms the pentagonal dodecahedron ofpyritohedralpyrite. The decrement of the layers is in the proportion of 2:1, which leads to a dihedral angle at the top edgepq of 126° 87′, closely corresponding to that of the empirical crystal, of 127° 56′. The diagram is based on an 1801 drawing byRené Just Haüy.[17][18]

The phenomenon of the constancy of interfacial angles is important because it is an outward sign of the inherent symmetry and ordered arrangement of atoms, ions or molecules within acrystal structure. The faces of a crystal are parallel to the planes of thecrystal lattice, and it is for this reason that the interfacial angles are the same in different crystal specimens.[19]
The angles between the various faces of a crystal remain unchanged throughout its growth. Crystalsgrow by addition of material to existing faces, this material being deposited parallel to the already existing surfaces. Consequently, if more material is added to one face than to another, the faces become unalike in size and shape, nevertheless the interfacial angles between them remain the same.[20]
Crystals generally exhibitanisotropy, that is their properties are dependent on their direction. In particular, crystals cleave in specific directions, namely those parallel to the planes of the lattice structure.[21]Cleavage preferentially occurs parallel to higher density planes[22] with lowMiller indices.[23]
Figures 5 and 6 belong to the class of those which I could present in countless numbers to prove that in the plane of the axis both the number and the length of the sides are changed in various ways without changing the angles.
Nevertheless since there is here a principle of crystallization, the inclination of the planes and of the angles is always constant.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)