text: There are two simple regular lattices that achieve this highest average density. They are called face-centered cubic (FCC) (also called cubic close packed) and hexagonal close-packed (HCP), based on their symmetry. Both are based upon sheets of spheres arranged at the vertices of a triangular tiling; they differ in how the sheets are stacked upon one another.  The FCC lattice is also known to mathematicians as that generated by the A root system.