How are crystals grown?
In a solution, a solvent (water) can only hold a certain amount of solute. This is called the solubility of a solution. When the temperature of the solution is increased, hot water can dissolve more solid substance than cold water. This is because heated water molecules move farther apart, making room for more solid substance to dissolve. When no more of the solid substance can be dissolved, the solution is said to be saturated. As this solution cools, the water molecules move closer together again and there’s less room for the solution to hold onto as much of the dissolved solid. Crystals begin to form and build on one another as the water lets go of the excess solute. This process is called recrystallization and, depending upon conditions, one may obtain a mass of many small crystals or one large crystal. How do crystals form and how do we control its rate of growth? In this experiment, you will be growing crystals from a saturated solution. During recrystallization, crystals start g
