Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🏆 Sports organization 📹 Video resolution 🚢 Shipping cost term 🏦 Customer file 🔬 Crystal data file
CIF

CIF

8.4
A standard text file that stores information about the atoms in crystals and molecules
  • noun
  • /sɪf/
  • Specialized
: archivo CIF
  • The CIF format is essential for sharing crystallographic data.

Examples

  • Many scientific journals require data to be submitted in CIF format for crystallographic studies.

  • The researcher saved the crystal structure as a CIF for further analysis.

  • She converted the experimental results into a CIF to share with her colleagues.

  • Researchers often use CIFs to publish their findings.

  • Many scientific journals require data to be submitted in CIF format for crystallographic studies.

  • Researchers often use CIF files to share and review molecular structures.

  • The researcher saved the crystal structure as a CIF to ensure compatibility with various software.

Surface Forms

CIF singular
CIFs plural

Morphology

CIF = crystallographic + information + file (opaque) = C + I + F

The abbreviation CIF stands for 'Crystallographic Information File'; the initialism itself gives no morphological clue to this technical expansion.

Etymology

CIF comes from crystallographic information file, a simple text 'file' scientists use to record the positions of atoms in a crystal. Because it is a standard 'file' format, researchers can share and read the same structure data easily.