Why does Epsom salt make crystal spikes?
When you add Epsom salt to water, the salt dissolves. When you leave the pan in the sun, the water evaporates and the salt forms crystals shaped like long needles. If you tried this experiment with table salt instead of Epsom salt, you wouldn’t get crystal spikes. That’s because table salt and Epsom salt are chemically different, so the crystals that they form are very different. Part 2. Rock Candy Materials 1 Glass jar or drinking glass 1 Piece of cotton string 1 Pencil or stick 1 Paper clip 1 Food coloring (optional) 1 c Water 2 c Sugar Additional sugar Procedure: 1. Tie a short piece of cotton string to the middle of the pencil or stick. Attach a paper clip to the end of the string for a weight. Moisten the string very lightly, and roll in a bit of sugar (this will “attract” the sugar crystals from the syrup to the string). Place the pencil or stick over the top of the glass or jar with the string hanging down inside. 2. Heat the water to boiling, and dissolve the 2 cups of sugar in
