Tetragonal

Tetragonal refers to a type of crystal structure in which the unit cell, the basic building block of the crystal, has a rectangular shape. In this structure, two sides are of equal length while the third side is a different length, resembling a stretched cube. This arrangement affects how the material behaves physically and chemically. Commonly found in minerals and certain metals, tetragonal structures contribute to unique properties like strength and light interactions, making them important in fields such as materials science and solid-state physics.