chemistry

Inorganic Crystal Structure Database

Inorganic Crystal Structure Database is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Inorganic Crystal Structure Database rather than just read about it. In short: Inorganic Crystal Structure Database (ICSD) is a chemical database founded in 1978 by Günter Bergerhoff at the University of Bonn in Germany and I. D.

Key takeaways

Inorganic Crystal Structure Database belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Inorganic Crystal Structure Database to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Inorganic Crystal Structure Database from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Inorganic Crystal Structure Database (ICSD) is a chemical database founded in 1978 by Günter Bergerhoff at the University of Bonn in Germany and I. D. Brown at McMaster University in Canada. It is now produced by FIZ Karlsruhe in Europe and the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology. It seeks to contain information on all inorganic crystal structures published since 1913, including pure elements, minerals, metals, and intermetallic compounds (with atomic coordinates). ICSD contains over 318,000 entries as of August 2025 and is updated twice a year. A Windows-based PC version has been developed in co-operation with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and a PHP-MySQL web based version in co-operation with the Institut Laue–Langevin (ILL) Grenoble.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Inorganic Crystal Structure Database

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Inorganic Crystal Structure Database claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Inorganic Crystal Structure Database before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Inorganic Crystal Structure Database ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Inorganic Crystal Structure Database

In research: Inorganic Crystal Structure Database appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Inorganic Crystal Structure Database in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Inorganic Crystal Structure Database is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Chemical databases, Crystallographic databases, Crystallography stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Inorganic Crystal Structure Database outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Inorganic Crystal Structure Database in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Inorganic Crystal Structure Database means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Inorganic Crystal Structure Database out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Inorganic Crystal Structure Database in simple terms?

Inorganic Crystal Structure Database (ICSD) is a chemical database founded in 1978 by Günter Bergerhoff at the University of Bonn in Germany and I. D.

Why does Inorganic Crystal Structure Database matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Inorganic Crystal Structure Database?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Inorganic Crystal Structure Database.