crystallographic phase transitions

Crystallographic phase transitions are changes in the arrangement of atoms within a crystal structure when conditions like temperature or pressure shift. These transitions alter the symmetry and organization of the atoms, resulting in different crystalline forms called phases. For example, heating a material might cause it to change from a more ordered, symmetrical structure to a less ordered one. These changes can affect the material's properties, such as strength or electrical conductivity, and are important in fields like materials science and geology to understand how substances behave under different conditions.