  Already Hermann Grassmann's father Justus (1829, 1830) published two works on
the geometrical description of crystals, influenced by the earlier works of
C.S. Weiss (1780-1856) on three main crystal forces governing crystal
formation. In his 1840 essay on the derivation of crystal shapes from the
general law of crystal formation Hermann established the notion of a
three-dimensional vectorial system of forces with rational coefficients, that
represent the interior crystal structure, regulate its formation, its shape and
physical behavior. In the Ausdehnungslehre 1844 (Paragraph 171) he finally
writes: I shall conclude this presentation by one of the most beautiful
applications which can be made of the science treated, i.e. the application to
crystal figures (Scholz, 1996). The geometry of crystals thus certainly
influenced the Ausdehnungslehre. In this paper we see how Grassmann's work
influenced Clifford's creation of geometric algebras, which in turn leads to a
new geometric description of crystal symmetry suitable for modern computer
algebra graphics.
