A hexagonal closed packing (hcp) unit cell has an ABAB type of packing. For calculating the packing fraction we require the volume of the unit cell. Volume of hcp lattice = (Base area) ⋅ (Height of unit cell) Each hexagon has a side = 2⋅r Base area = 6 (Area of small equilateral triangles making up the hexagon) =6⋅3–√4×(2r)2 =6⋅3–√⋅r2 Hence, volume =6⋅3–√⋅r2 (Height of unit cell) This is the point where I am stuck. How do I find out the height of the unit cell?
I searched in textbooks and found out that height =4r⋅23−−√