132-2 XTL CIF-AR: Teaching Crystallography with Augmented Reality

Abstract:

Among the general population, the capacity for retaining and manipulating visual information is highly variable, and approximately one in 25 people has aphantasia, i.e., the inability to internally visualize (Dance et al. 2022). Introductory geology and mineralogy courses typically teach crystallographic structures using a limited number of physical ball-and-stick models, supplemented by desktop programs such as VESTA. Unfortunately, neurodiverse students may struggle to analyze and describe structures they cannot physically interact with. Virtual Reality (VR) has been used to visualize molecular structures, but these applications are typically optimized for molecular engineering professionals rather than the classroom and are not compatible with Crystallographic Information Files or CIFs —the standard format of the International Union of Crystallography.

We built a Unity application named XTL CIF-AR for visualizing crystal structures in augmented reality (AR). XTL CIF-AR allows students to manually manipulate and measure crystal structures, bridging the gap between the observational skills developed in introductory physical geology courses and the abstract visualization required for mineralogy and crystallography. It parses the CIF format and renders the atomic structure in 3D. Users can interact with the structure by orbiting, panning, zooming, and measuring interatomic distances. Crystal metadata, such as the space group, crystal system, and cell dimensions, are displayed as an in-scene overlay. Additional features visualize lattice planes to enable teaching Miller indices and the ability to see unit volume change as a function of pressure. We will use this presentation to demo the program (a free beta is available), share example companion lesson plans, and discuss the potential impact of AR applications for enhancing learning outcomes in classrooms.

C.J. Dance, A. Ipser, and Simner J. The prevalence of aphantasia (imagery weakness) in the general population. Consciousness and Cognition, 97:103243, January 2022. doi:10.1016/j.concog.2021.103243.

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