How to Calculate the Shortest Distance Between Atoms in a BCC Structure?

[vipertongn]

Homework Statement

Barium crystallizes in a body centered cubic structure in which the cell edge length is 0.5025 nm. Calculate the shortest distance between neighboring atoms in the crystal.

Homework Equations

Avagodro's number

The Attempt at a Solution

0.5025 x 10^-7 cm ( 1/2atoms) (6.022 x 10^23 atoms)

That's as much as I know so far, I can't use bragg's law because I don't have the angle nor the order nor the wavelength to figure it out. How should I solve this?

 

[tiny-tim]

Hi vipertongn!

I don't know what body centered cubic structure or cell edge length is,

but this looks like a simple geometry problem to me …

they've given you the geometrical pattern and one length, and you have to calculate another length.

 

[soot]

http://cst-www.nrl.navy.mil/lattice/struk.picts/a2.s.png

See if you can visualize the triangle...You know the triangle sides. Now calculate the bond lengths from ratios of the triangles.