Each cubic cell has 8 atoms in each corner of the cube, and that atom is shared with 8 neighboring cells. In the Body Centered Cubic Cell (BCC) there is an additional atom in the center of the cube, and in the face centered cubic cell, an atom is shared between two unit cells along the face.

Figure12.1.112.1.1\PageIndex{1}: The 7 types of unit cells. In this class we will only look at cubic systems, and will identify 3 types of cubic unit cells (figure. 12.b)

αα\large\alpha = angle in the yz plane ββ\large\beta = angle in the xz plane γγ\large\gamma = angle in the xy plane