What Are Crystals? How Do Crystals Form?
When we hear crystals, we typically imagine coloured minerals. But they're not the only kinds of crystals. Crystals include graphite found in pencils as well as table salt and snow.
All crystals share a well-organized molecular organization. The atoms and ions that make up crystals are arranged in a grid pattern. For example, in the case of table salt (NaCl), the crystals are composed of cubes made of sodium (Na) ions and chlorine (Cl) ions. Six chlorine ions surround every sodium ion. Each chlorine ion is enclosed by sodium ions. It's extremely repetitive, which is exactly what makes it a crystal! If you expect to find out the latest information about crystals, you have to check https://soulalign.com/collections/raw-crystals-for-sale/products/malachite-polished-raw-crystals-41g site.
Different minerals possess different molecular structures. The molecular mixtures create crystals with various forms. Cubic crystals are naturally formed by table salt. Quartz crystals, which are composed of silicon dioxide (SiO2) molecules, form hexagonal prisms with hexagonal pyramids at either end. The most common form of the ice crystal is called snow. It is is made up of water (H2O) molecules. The water molecules form hexagonal plane crystals.
What is the significance of the crystal's structure?
The crystal's structure is as crucial to the crystal as the molecules are to the molecules. This becomes apparent when we compare crystals made of carbon. Diamonds, for instance, are clear and strong enough that they can cut through glass. Meanwhile, graphite is dark, opaque and yet so soft that tiny particles of it rub onto the paper using pencils. These crystals are amazing! Both are made from carbon.
What can two different substances be created from the same atoms then? The difference is in their crystal structure. Graphite's carbon atoms form layers that are layered over each the. In diamonds, every carbon atom is bound to four carbon atoms, in the tightest possible configuration. What's the reason that carbon atoms are all packed together so tightly? Diamonds form deep within the Earth when pressures of high applied. The result is that the atoms becoming tightly crystalline.
Crystals can be formed in various ways. Certain mineral crystals form when carbon is cooled by pressure. That's how diamonds are formed.
If the solution evaporates, other crystals are formed. This is the way that the purple quartz crystal amethyst develops. Amethyst begins as a highly concentrated solution of silicon dioxide (SiO2) containing tiny quantities of iron. This solution gets trapped inside a bubble of lava. When the water evaporates the oxygen and silicon ions slowly arrange themselves to create crystals. Amethyst's color is because of iron.
However, crystals cannot form in the middle of a liquid. To grow, they need to start from a point. The crystal can begin to grow once a nucleus has been formed. A nucleus may sometimes referred to as a seed crystal. The process is known as nucleation. For amethyst, its healing crystals form on the inside of lava bubbles. As the lava bubbles get cool crystals form within the stones. This type of structure is called geodes.