Q&A for How to Grow Crystals

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How do you make a spiky crystal?

Bess Ruff, MA
Environmental Scientist
Bess Ruff is a Geography PhD student at Florida State University. She received her MA in Environmental Science and Management from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2016. She has conducted survey work for marine spatial planning projects in the Caribbean and provided research support as a graduate fellow for the Sustainable Fisheries Group.

Bess Ruff, MA

Environmental Scientist

Expert Answer

The crystal will grow based on the shape you submerge in the jar. If you want a crystal with pronounced spikes, you could take a single pipe cleaner and twist smaller lengths of pipe cleaner onto so that they're sticking straight out, perpendicular to the longer piece.

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So for the first two methods i have to over-saturate the solutions?

Bess Ruff, MA
Environmental Scientist
Bess Ruff is a Geography PhD student at Florida State University. She received her MA in Environmental Science and Management from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2016. She has conducted survey work for marine spatial planning projects in the Caribbean and provided research support as a graduate fellow for the Sustainable Fisheries Group.

Bess Ruff, MA

Environmental Scientist

Expert Answer

Yes. You want there to be more solid particles than the water can dissolve, so that the crystals can form.

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Question

What is the strongest type of crystal?

Community Answer

Wurtzite boron nitride and lonsdaleite (hexagonal diamond) are the two strongest.

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Question

Do I need to use food coloring?

Community Answer

No, because food coloring is just for looks.

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Question

Can I grow crystals in a cold environment?

Community Answer

Yes, you can.

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Question

Can I grow crystals using other crystals?

Community Answer

Yes. Put a crystal in a solution, allowing other crystals to grow on the original one.

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Question

How do I grow salt rock crystals?

Community Answer

You mix salt into a container of water, bit by bit, until the salt stops being able to dissolve. Then you usually pour it onto a flatter surface (like a plate) to dry faster. Let it sit for a while and crystals will form.

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Question

How do the crystals grow?

Community Answer

The molecules of the chemical (salt, sugar, calcium carbonate) fit together as they leave the solution and join earlier molecules. The solvent (water, oil, alcohol, etc.) can dissolve only a certain amount. If you add more, it becomes supersaturated and the excess starts piling up on the substrate (the string, rock, or small crystal of the same chemical).

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Question

Can I use salt instead of alum?

Joshua

Community Answer

Yes, you can use salt instead of alum. It'll just take a few weeks.

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Question

What is alum?

Joshua

Community Answer

Alum is a kind of spice. Get it in the spice section in your grocery store.

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Question

How are salt crystals formed?

Conner Potts

Community Answer

Certain molecules in the liquid gather together as they attempt to become stable. They do this in a uniform and repeating pattern that forms the crystal. In nature, crystals can form when liquid rock, called magma, cools. If it cools slowly, then the crystals may form.

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Do I need to use aluminum?

Community Answer

No, you can use salt or sugar as well.

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Question

Can you grow crystals inside crystals?

Community Answer

No, crystals aren't hollow.

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Question

What happens if two different salts are used together?

Community Answer

The crystals will be the same. It's just salt, so it will not make a difference.

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Question

How much sugar is needed for a pint jar to make rock crystal?

Community Answer

Check out wikiHow articles Make Edible Sugar Crystals and Form Sugar Crystals , these will help with specific volumes and give advice specific to sugar crystals.

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Question

Can I grow crystals onto a smooth surface such as glass?

WildAnimalGirl

Community Answer

Surface crystals rise substantially above the glass surface as they grow laterally without penetrating deep into the bulk.

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Question

I made the Borax crystals, but the bottom of the jar crystallized, and I haven't been able to get them off. How could I get them off?

WildAnimalGirl

Community Answer

Remove Borax crystals by using hot water (as hot as you can stand it) and liquid dish soap.

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