Showing posts with label how do crystals grow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label how do crystals grow. Show all posts

Friday, December 26, 2014

What Are Crystals



I love stones for their beauty and how each one is unique compared to the other. Crystals are no exception; they are so special in the way that they are formed. Crystal formation is actually referred to as "growing." Since this fascinates and intrigues me, I have decided to research the subject and share my findings with you on my blog.

The first question I will address is "what is a crystal?"

In my research I discovered that it all comes down to atoms and molecules. Simply put, crystals are organized groups of atoms and molecules. When these atoms come together in an organized manner, in a repeated pattern, it's considered a crystal.  The shape and the color of the crystal depend on how the atoms and molecules are placed (they sort of are like the building blocks of the crystal).  These beautiful clusters of repeated patterns are what make crystals so attractive and pretty.   But they're not all about looks. Crystals are a marvel of nature because of  their underlying, complex, mathematical patterns which intrigue scientists to this day.

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How do they grow?

The chemical composition, temperature, pressure and space will all affect how crystals grow.  Basically, in the right environment, crystals grow by adding molecules to their surface, layer over layer.

Types of Crystals-

There are many types of crystals, for instance, salt, sugar and snowflakes are fascinating examples of crystals.

The rock crystal (clear quartz) is what has captured my attention at this point because not only is it beautiful, it is the most common mineral and has so many applications (in the above photograph, see crystal points cut from a raw crystal chunk which I made into pendants for a customer).  For instance, the watch you're wearing probably conceals tiny quartz crystals (used for accuracy); of course jewelry is a very popular venue for quartz crystal (often used to imitate diamonds); it also has many applications in the roadway system and building materials.

How to grow your own crystal points?

You read right!  You can actually grow your own crystal.  I found these awesome science kits with instructions and all the necessary materials so that you might create the perfect environment to grow your own crystals.