Influence of the surface on the properties of macro-and nanocrystals

The influence of the surface energy on the properties of macro-and nanocrystals has been considered. It is shown that the properties of small crystals (several microns and less) depend on their dimensions, which is explained by an increase of the number of surface atoms in the total number of all the atoms in a crystal. On the basis of the energy criterion of crystalline substance amorphization, a formula relating the surface energy of a crystal to its crystal-lattice parameters is derived. The surface energies of elemental crystals are calculated. It is assumed that anisotropy in contact-melting temperature of single crystals can be observed experimentally.