Illustrating Close-Packed and Graphite Structures with Paper Snowflake Cutouts

This paper describes the use of flat paper cutouts with six-fold symmetry for modeling layers of atoms within solid structures. Stacking the cutouts in specific ways illustrates how the layers of the atoms are stacked in the solids. Additionally, these cutouts can be used to demonstrate types of deformation in metals, atomic force microscopy, and carbon nanostructures. These paper lattices can be used on an overhead projector for demonstration to an entire class, or they can be constructed and studied on individual bases by students.