Reciprocal Space
Reciprocal space (also called "k-space") is the space in which the Fourier transform of a spatial function is represented (similarly the frequency domain is the space in which the Fourier transform of a time dependent function is represented). A Fourier transform takes us from "real space" to reciprocal space or vice versa.
A reciprocal lattice is a periodic set of points in this space, and contains the points that compose the Fourier transform of a periodic spatial lattice. The Brillouin zone is a volume within this space that contain all the unique k-vectors that represent the periodicity of classical or quantum waves allowed in a periodic structure.
Read more about this topic: Reciprocal Lattice
Famous quotes containing the words reciprocal and/or space:
“I had no place in any coterie, or in any reciprocal self-advertising. I stood alone. I stood outside. I wanted only to learn. I wanted only to write better.”
—Ellen Glasgow (1873–1945)
“Not so many years ago there there was no simpler or more intelligible notion than that of going on a journey. Travel—movement through space—provided the universal metaphor for change.... One of the subtle confusions—perhaps one of the secret terrors—of modern life is that we have lost this refuge. No longer do we move through space as we once did.”
—Daniel J. Boorstin (b. 1914)