What Are Crystals? And How Do They Form?
Crystals are usually linked to colored minerals. But those are not the only kinds of crystals. Crystals can also be found in graphite pencils as well as table salt and snow.
What all crystals share in common is an extremely well-organized molecular structure. In a crystal, all of the atoms (or ions) are laid out in a regular grid pattern. In the case of table salt (NaCl), crystals are composed of cubes made of chlorine (Cl) and ions as well as sodium (Na). Six chlorine ions are surrounded by every sodium ion. Every chlorine ion is surrounded by sodium ions. It's extremely repetitive, which is exactly what makes it crystal! Navigate to this website to get additional resources about healing crystals.
Different minerals have distinct molecular compositions. The molecular mixtures create structures with different forms. Cubic crystals are naturally formed by table salt. Quartz crystals, made up of silicon dioxide (SiO2) molecules, form hexagonal prisms with hexagonal pyramids on either end. Snow is a type of an ice crystal. 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?
Crystal structure is as important as molecules. This is evident when we look at crystals made from carbon. Diamonds, for example, are clear and robust enough to cut through glass. Meanwhile, graphite is dark, opaque and so soft that small bits of it are rubbed onto paper when you use pencils. What's so incredible about these two crystals? Both are made of carbon.
How can two different materials be created from the same atoms, is that not the case? The crystal structure is what make them distinct. In graphite, the carbon atoms form sheets that are layered on top of each the. Each diamond's carbon atom is bound to four carbon atoms in the tightest combinations. Why are these carbon atoms packed so tightly together? Diamonds form deep within the Earth when high pressure is applied. This causes the atoms to become packed together in the tightest crystalline state possible.
There are many ways crystals can be made. Certain mineral crystals form when pressurized molten carbon quickly cools. This is the way diamonds are formed.
After the solution has evaporated, other crystals are formed. This is why amethyst crystal, which is purple in color, develops. Amethyst is formed as a concentrated solution of silicon dioxide (SiO2) containing small quantities of iron. This solution gets trapped inside the lava bubble. The oxygen and silicon ions form crystals as the water evaporates. The iron is responsible for giving amethyst its purple colour.
However, crystals cannot grow in the middle of a liquid. For them to grow, they have to start from a point. When a nucleus has formed crystals begin to grow. The nucleus can also be called a seed crystal. This process is referred to as nucleation. In the case of amethyst, its crystals shape is formed on the inside of lava bubbles. When the lava bubbles cool, crystals form within the stones. This type of structure is referred to as geodes.