Which term describes the plane or surface in which a dislocation travels through the crystal to cause an offset?

• A. Crystal Planes
• B. Glide Plane
• C. Defect
• D. Crystal Axes

Answer: (B)

Dislocations move by gliding along a specific plane in the crystal lattice. The plane on which this glide occurs is called the glide plane. As the dislocation travels along that plane, atoms shift past one another, creating the observable offset in the crystal. Crystal planes is a general term for any lattice plane, but only the glide plane denotes the particular plane that enables dislocation motion. Defect is a broad label for any irregularity in the crystal, and crystal axes refer to directions, not planes of motion. So the correct term for the plane the dislocation travels on to cause the offset is the glide plane.