Crystals
Crystals are among the Earth's most beautiful creations, appearing in the patterns of snowflakes, the ice in your freezer or stones in your backyard. Quartz crystals are used in electronics like radios and in the inner workings of watches. Nature takes thousands of years to make crystals, but you can quickly create your own at home with salt, sugar or Borax.
What Are Crystals?
As minerals form in the Earth's crust, they sometimes grow into a particular three-dimensional geometric shape called a crystal. Each geometric shape is the result of the way the atoms come together as the mineral forms. Factors like pressure, temperature, available space and chemical conditions present in the minerals affect the formation of crystals. Crystallization can occur in water or in molten rock as when a volcano erupts and then cools down quickly. Crystals are in metals like gold, copper, silver, mercury and iron and in precious stones like diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds and topaz. You'll also see crystals in ice, sugar, snow, sulfur and salt. The three-dimensional properties of crystals reflect the internal atomic structure of the molecules that create them.
How Are Crystals Formed?
Crystals form when liquids inside the Earth cool and harden, or when liquids underground flow into cracks and slowly form minerals. Basically, crystallization is a separation of solids and liquids when molecules cluster together in a repeated pattern. As the molecules group together, they attempt to become stable or solid. This process is also called nucleation and is the beginning of crystal formation. As long as the temperature is consistent and the molecules outnumber the liquid, crystals will form. If the molecules cannot join the group, they are reabsorbed back into the liquid. Examples of natural crystal formations are the stalactites and stalagmites in underground caves.
Making Your Own Crystals
You and your kids can make your own crystals with Borax, pipe cleaners, a pencil and a wide-mouth jar. Shape the pipe cleaners into a heart or circle or join three together to make a star. Whatever you design must fit inside the jar without touching the sides or the bottom. Tie the pipe cleaner to the center of a pencil with string, so the pipe cleaner dangles freely when you place it in the jar. Before you place the pipe cleaner in the jar, fill the jar with hot water and dissolve 3 tablespoons of Borax for every cup of water that you use. You need a super-concentrated solution; if you have undissolved Borax on the bottom of the jar after you stir it, that's a good thing. You can also mix in food coloring for colorful crystals. Then dangle the pipe cleaner in the Borax water and let it sit overnight. In the morning, you'll have beautiful crystals covering your design.
Tags: pipe cleaner, geometric shape, pipe cleaners, when liquids
