Pyrite ($\ce{FeS2}$) forms cubic crystals, like these ones:
I know that the crystal structure is primitive cubic, but I don’t see how cubic structure on the molecular level translates to cubic structure on much larger scales. If you are given some number of cubes, there are many different ways to assemble the cubes face to face, and only one of these ways is to create a large cube. So why is it that the pyrite in this rock forms nearly perfect cubes?
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