HISTORY OF CRYSTALLOGRAPHY IN EXHIBITION OF THE EARTH SCIENCE MUSEUM OF LOMONOSOV MOSCOW STATE UNIVERSITY

T.K. Ivanova, G.I. Dorochova

¹Earth Science Museum, MSU, Moscow, 119899, Russia
²Geology Department, MSU, Moscow, 119899, Russia

The Earth Science Museum of Lomonosov Moscow State University is the cultural - educational center. It occupies the upper seven floors of the main University building on the Sparrow Hills (in Russian - Vorobjovy Gory).

It's a tradition since 1955, when the museum was opened, all displays and samples has been used for the educational process. Class-work with students and schoolchildren in the Museum is one of the main aspects of the Museum's activity.

The main themes of crystallography and crystal chemistry are represented in exposition of the section " The Processes of Minerals Formation". This exposition was created by scientists of the Museum and of Geological department in the fifties. At this displays there were presented single achievements of the science in according to demonstrative results being characteristic of previous years.

If the primary displays outlined only the particular achievements of science and some examples, the new ones show the development of the scientific ideas. The authors have created the new exposition. The names of the displays are the following: "Symmetry of Crystals ", "Mineral Structures" and "Crystal Growth".

In 1890 E.S.Fedorov deducted all as possible combinations of the symmetry elements - 230 Fedorov's space groups, long before the development of the X-Ray structural methods. These 230 Fedorov's space groups of symmetry have became the base of contemporary crystal chemistry - the theory of atomic structure of crystals. The display "Symmetry of Crystals" shows the connection between 32 point groups and 230 Fedorov's space groups of symmetry: 32 wooden models of crystal simple forms are connected.

The exposition "Crystal Growth" shows the success of the science of the last 50 years - from the creation of the first synthetic Seignette salt crystals - up to chalcanthite crystals grown on board the space ship during the Soviet -Mongolian experiment. At the same time the modern apparatuses and methods of crystal growth of quarts , diamond, emerald , ruby, fianites ets, are shown at this display.

Museum's displays and mineralogical collection help the students of the University in learning of their courses " Mineralogy ", "Crystallography", "Crystal Chemistry " and "Geology". The first-year undergraduate students of the department of the Crystallography and Crystal Chemistry (Faculty of Geology) get necessary information for their scientific research .