How To Make Crystals

Making crystal is a good way for parents to introduce science to their kids. Making crystals would be an interesting lesson in chemistry for the kids. People think making crystal is a process, which needs a lot of factory machines and equipment. However, in fact, it is an easy process, which can be done with ingredients, which are usually available at local stores. Crystals are solid materials with atoms, ions, molecules that are arranged in certain patterns. These patterns repeat themselves throughout the molecular structure of crystals. This provides the crystals a definite lattice pattern for each and every crystal. One interesting fact about the crystals is that they can grow even though they are not living things. This process is called as ‘crystallization’. Read on the article to know how to make crystals. 

 

 

 Procedure

• First of all you have to take two cups of water in a sauce pan and add half a cup of alum powder to it.
• After that, you should heat the solution over medium flame and stir it constantly till alum powder dissolves completely in water.
• Alum powder should be added until a saturated solution is formed.
• Pour a small amount of this solution into a dish which is not too deep and allow it to cool.
• Once the solution is cool, you will see small crystals forming
• Take out one of the crystals and let it to dry completely. This is your "seed" crystal, i.e, the crystal from which the rest of the crystal will grow.
• Tie one end of a piece of thread around the crystal, and tie the other end around the middle of a pencil.
• Prepare another saturated alum solution, as explained above.
• Pour the solution into a glass jar.
• Place the pencil over the jar in such a manner that the thread hangs down into the jar and the crystal is suspended in the solution.
• Cover the jar with a paper towel to prevent the dust from getting into the crystals.
• In a few days, the crystal will grow