Abstract
THE two equally dense cubic and hexagonal packings discovered by Barlow1 in 1883 are now widely known. But it does not appear to be equally well known that there are also four homogeneous mixtures of these ; so that we have in all no less than six homogeneous arrangements all possessing maximum density. Barlow himself was aware of the possibility of admixture2, but so far as I know the matter has never been fully expounded, and in view of the increasing practical importance of the subject it isperhaps well that it should be.
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References
Barlow, W., Nature, 29, 186 (1883).
Barlow, W., and Pope, W. J., J. Chem. Soc., 91, 1158 (1907).
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MELMORE, S. Densest Packing of Equal Spheres. Nature 159, 817 (1947). https://doi.org/10.1038/159817a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/159817a0
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