Crystals are a beautiful and unique natural phenomenon that has fascinated humanity for many centuries. However, thanks to science and research by scientists, today you can make them yourself.

Growing crystals is an interesting and exciting activity not only for children, but also for adults

If you tell your child about amazing world crystals, then he will undoubtedly ask you: “How to make a crystal at home?”

Getting such a miracle of nature will be interesting not only for kids, but also for those who have never conducted such experiments at school. Therefore, you can not only catch up, but also instill in your child a love of science.

It is worth noting that any age of the child is suitable for this experiment. The only task for the parent will be a correct and accessible explanation of the formation of crystals. For this fascinating procedure, you can buy a ready-made kit or grow a crystal from scrap materials.

What is needed to grow crystals?

Before making a crystal at home, prepare the following:

It is also worth being patient, as growing crystals requires a lot of time and effort.

Growing crystals from table salt

Many people ask the question: “How to make a crystal from salt?” Indeed, it can be found in everyone's kitchen. So why spend money on a more “refined” material when you can just use salt!

As a rule, beginners begin to grow crystals from this material. To do this, you need to prepare a saline solution. Pour some heated water into a glass container (you can take a jar or glass). Add salt until it stops dissolving, always stirring the solution. To completely dissolve the salt, it is necessary to maintain a high temperature of the water in the glass for as long as possible. Therefore, it can be placed in a warm place or placed in a pan with warm water. By the way, if you are interested in how to make a crystal from sugar, then follow the same technique, replacing the salt with granulated sugar.

So, the concentrated solution is ready. Now you need to hang a thread with a crystal of the same salt attached to its end on a jumper (for example, a pencil). It is this that will become the foundation for the birth of our future crystals, which will form in 5-7 days.

So we figured out how to make a crystal at home from salt.

Growing crystals from vitriol

We have already said that such a natural miracle can be obtained not only from salt. Let's look at how to make a crystal from vitriol.

We would like to warn you right away that vitriol is harmful. Chemical substance. Therefore, you need to work with it very carefully. As a rule, this is done with gloves. Under no circumstances should this product come into contact with your eyes!

The methods for growing crystals from this raw material are very similar to the previous ones. Since vitriol is sulfur-copper salt, instead of table (edible) salt we add this chemical substance to warm water. Everything else is done in the same way as described above.

The only difference is the color. Crystals from copper sulfate will be dark blue, and from table salt - white.

Crystal figures

Were you interested in learning how to make a crystal at home? Would you like us to tell you how to make crystal figurines?

There are two such methods. The first involves preliminary growing crystals of different colors (for example, from vitriol and salt) and then fastening them with glue to obtain one or another shape. It could be a snowman, a cat, and so on. That is, it all depends on your imagination.

And the second method involves making a blank before making a crystal from salt (or from another similar substance). The workpiece is made of wire. The shapes can be different: these are stars, hearts, circles, squares, treble clefs, that is, whatever your imagination allows you to create. After you have made the frame, you need to wrap it with ordinary threads and dip it in a saline solution, then dry it. After drying, small crystals form on the threads. They will be the basis for growing the main crystals. In 5-7 days you will have a beautiful crystallized figure.

Crystals have long attracted people's attention. Despite their natural origin, such stones look very unusual, almost “unnaturally” beautiful. And the huge variety of shapes and colors has made crystals a very popular material, often used in handicrafts, decoration and even jewelry.

It is known that such stones are formed as a result of the solidification of mineral-rich liquids. Accordingly, you can grow a crystal right at home. The main thing is to figure out how to prepare a solution suitable for the formation of such a stone. Our guide will help you understand all the intricacies of a difficult but crazy interesting process growing crystals.

What you need to grow crystals at home

The growth of an artificial crystal depends on many conditions. If you want to create such a miracle of nature yourself, you will need to take many points into account. The composition of the crystallization solution (not to mention its concentration and saturation) and the conditions will also be important. environment(humidity and air temperature), and even the properties of the surface on which the stone will grow.

That is why, before you start making a special liquid, you should make sure that you have everything you need for the future experiment:

• a container made of any non-oxidizing material (its size can be arbitrary; make your choice based on how large the crystal you plan to grow);
• regular table salt;
• a stick for stirring the solution (it is better if it is wooden or glass);
• napkins or special filter paper (required) white).

How to quickly grow a crystal from table salt and water

To grow a crystal from ordinary salt at home, you will have to be patient: this project can take you from 3 weeks to six months (the period will directly depend on how large the stone you want to get in the end). In a month, such a stone will hardly reach the size of a bean. In three, it will increase to a maximum of 4 cm (meaning in diameter).

First of all, prepare a special solution for growing crystals:

1. Take some clean distilled water and keep it at room temperature.

2. Dissolve regular table salt in the resulting liquid. It is better to take more seasonings. Continue adding salt until the solution no longer becomes difficult to stir.

3. Place the container with the prepared liquid in a water bath. Heat the mixture until the salt in it is completely dissolved.

4. Cool the resulting homogeneous mass, and then strain with gauze or a napkin. This step is necessary to remove all solid impurities from the solution.

Once the liquid is ready, you can proceed directly to growing the salt crystal:

1. To start, you will need a base. Ideal if you already have a small crystal of salt ready. In the absence of one, you can use any solid object as a base (preferably made of plastic, since this material will not oxidize in the prepared solution).

2. Take an ordinary thread (necessarily white). Tie one end of it to the selected base, and the other to a pencil, ruler or any other object that can act as a “crossbar”, lying across the neck of the container with the solution. Please note that the length of the thread itself must be such that the crystal suspended with its help is completely immersed in the liquid, but does not reach the bottom of the vessel.

3. Cover the finished structure with a cloth and put it in a place where strong temperature changes are not possible (in other words, away from windows and sources of drafts).

4. Now all you have to do is wait for the crystal to grow. You can check its condition from time to time by carefully lifting the structure by the thread on which it is suspended. However, avoid touching the crystal with your hands or touching the walls of the container with it at this time! A fragile stone will not tolerate such treatment.

5. As soon as the crystal reaches the size you need, remove it from the solution, gently wipe with a dry cloth and coat with colorless varnish. This way the stone will become a little stronger, and you can pick it up without fear of breaking it.

natural rock crystals

Beautiful hexagonal rock crystals grew from hot aqueous solutions saturated with silica SiO 2.

natural sulfur crystals

Rhombic yellow crystals sulfur grew from hydrogen sulfide waters of hot springs and geysers.

On the shores of salt lakes and seas you can see cubic crystals of rock salt - halite; white, red, yellow and even blue crystals of carnallite and mirabilite.

Diamonds, the hardest crystals, were formed under enormous pressure in the so-called explosion pipes (kimberlite pipes).

So, nature has created and continues to create mineral crystals. Can we see the mystery of crystal growth? Can we grow them ourselves? Yes of course we can. And now I will tell you how to do this at home.

HOW TO GROW A CRYSTAL FROM SALT

Grown salt crystals

In order to grow crystals of table (rock) salt (halite - NaCl), you need to place a container of water on the stove and bring the water to a boil. Then remove the container from the stove and dissolve regular salt from the pack in it. Constantly stirring the solution, add salt until you notice that it no longer dissolves.

The resulting salty solution must be filtered and poured into a flat container, for example, a saucer. The water will cool and begin to evaporate, and you will see transparent cubes on the edges of the saucer and on its bottom correct form– these are crystals of rock salt, halite.

You can grow a large crystal, or several large cubic crystals. To do this, place a woolen thread in the container in which you dissolved the salt. As the solution cools, it will become covered with salt cubes. The slower the solution cools, the more regular the crystals will have. After some time, growth will stop.

To grow one large crystal, you need to select one, the most correct one, from the many crystals formed at the bottom, place it on the bottom of a clean glass, and pour the solution from the previous container on top.

For the right crystals to grow, they need peace. Do not shake or move the table or shelf on which the container with growing crystals stands.

HOW TO GROW A CRYSTAL FROM SUGAR

You can grow sugar crystals in the same way as salt crystals. Sugar crystals can also be grown on wooden sticks, this can be a beautiful addition to any holiday sweet dish. Food coloring added to the solution will color the sugar in all the colors of the rainbow.

Sugar crystals

Below is complete instructions, how to grow sugar crystals on sticks.

HOW TO GROW A CRYSTAL FROM COPPER Sulfate

Copper sulfate is sold in gardening stores; from it and slaked lime, “Bordeaux liquid” is prepared to protect plants from fungi and various diseases.

In order to grow a crystal of copper sulfate (Cu SO 4 * 5H 2 O) of the correct shape, powdered copper sulfate should be dissolved in water at a temperature of 80 degrees Celsius. At higher temperatures, the solubility of copper sulfate decreases. Dissolve the powder until dissolution stops. At the end of the wire or wool thread We attach a seed - a small crystal of the same copper sulfate. Where can I get it? You can look for a larger crystal in the same bag from which you poured the vitriol into the water. If you don’t find one, leave your solution to cool, and after a while you will see small crystals at the bottom.

Choose one and tie (or glue) it to a wire or thread. Filter the solution. Then dip the prepared seed (crystal on a thread) into it. Never put the seed into a hot solution! The seed may simply dissolve. A large crystal of copper sulfate grows for several weeks. Crystal grown to required sizes, you need to varnish, since the moisture contained in the air will eventually lead to its melting and destruction.

They are grown in a similar way; you can read a detailed article about this by following the link in this sentence.

HOW TO GROW A CRYSTAL FROM ALUMINUM POTASSIUM Alum

grown crystals of potassium alum

Potassium alum (KAI 2 * 12H 2 O - mineral alunite ) sold in pharmacies in powder form. This good remedy, which “dries the skin” and kills pathogens, this substance does not cause allergies and is not toxic. Good crystals can be grown from potassium alum powder. Alum should be dissolved in warm water until saturated and the solution filtered. After a few days of being in a quiet place, at room temperature, small crystals will appear at the bottom of the container.

potassium alum (burnt alum) can be bought at the pharmacy

From these crystals you need to select several pieces of the correct shape and place them in another container. Then they are filled with the same solution. You can hang the seeds on thin threads (they can be glued to the thread with strong waterproof glue). Once every two or three days, the crystals should be transferred to a new glass, the solution should be filtered and the growing crystals should be poured into it again. Alum crystals, When grown to the required size, they should be varnished so that they do not melt from air moisture and lose their shape.

It is advisable to prepare solutions for growing crystals using distilled water.

At home you can get artificial malachite using copper sulfate and washing soda, but this will not beautiful crystals or an openwork patterned stone, and a green or dirty green sediment at the bottom of the vessel (powder). Beautiful malachite, practically indistinguishable from natural, can only be obtained using industrial equipment.

Enterprises also grow crystals of many minerals. But this cannot be repeated at home; this requires special equipment. Most crystals (quartz, amethyst, ruby, emerald, diamonds, malachite, garnets, etc.) are grown in cast iron autoclaves under high pressure. Temperatures reach 500-1000 degrees, and pressure – 3000 atmospheres.

Crystal Growing Kits

crystal growing kit

Now in toy stores, major cities, kits for growing crystals have appeared on sale. From powders ammonium and potassium dihydrogen phosphate, to which dyes are added, interesting prismatic and needle-shaped crystals can be grown. In order for the crystals to turn out large enough and beautiful, you must strictly follow the attached instructions.

Strangely, the instructions that come in the box pictured do not indicate what chemical is used to grow the crystals or what dye is used. Otherwise it is quite detailed.

Crystals have attracted humans since ancient times. Almost all precious jewelry stones, with a few exceptions, are minerals with a clear crystal lattice. Modern technologies allow you to grow artificial gems, which do not differ in appearance from the real ones, have the same structure. Surprisingly, not only minerals, but ordinary grains of salt or sugar are also crystals that can grow. How to make salt crystals yourself? Let's talk about this in more detail.

First you need to select the substance you want to form into a crystal. Experiments at home have shown that the easiest way is to use regular table salt. This method has an undoubted advantage - all the necessary components are literally at hand, without requiring the purchase or search for special components. Please read the instructions carefully before starting the experiment. Different salts are suitable for a “little miracle”:

• marine;
• cookery;
• copper or iron sulfate;
• potassium chloride;
• potassium alum;
• potassium permanganate.

Exercise extreme caution when working with the substances used. You must immediately decide what result you want to get - one large single crystal or several smaller ones. To do this you will have to use different technologies. Note that growing single crystals is simpler in execution. Important: the container in which our beautiful stone grows must not be shaken or moved, otherwise it will turn out irregular shape. It is forbidden:

• removing the crystal from the vessel for no reason;
• use food coloring to add color;
• paint the surface of the finished “product” with paint.

How to grow a salt crystal at home

So, you decided to find out how to make a crystal from salt. To get a little preliminary practice, a ready-made kit for growing crystals, which is sold in children's stores, is suitable. You can do this process with your child. He will certainly enjoy the activity. There is an express way to obtain what you are looking for in 1 day, but then you will get not one large, but several fused small crystals. If you are ready for the wait and the impressive results, we will tell you how to grow a crystal from table salt.

Required materials and tools

For the intended experiment, it is necessary to prepare a set of required materials, which should contain:

• two transparent containers (so we can observe the growth);
• the substance that we will use for cultivation (in our case it is table salt);
• stick or tablespoon;
• funnel;
• filter paper;
• thread, or better, if available, thin copper wire;
• a lot of time and patience.

Step-by-step instruction

All necessary materials prepared, it's time to start making a grain of salt into a magic stone. What is the basic principle of how a small crystal becomes large? A small grain is added to a saturated solution of a substance, and the molecules begin to stick to it. The crystalline is growing. In order for the molecules to stick, you need to cool the liquid or evaporate it. The slow cooling method achieves faster results. We bring to your attention instructions on how to make crystals from table salt:

1. In a glass container (it is better not to use a plastic one), prepare a saturated saline solution. Add salt to hot water, mix thoroughly (for 100 grams of water heated to a temperature of 80°, 36-38 grams of salt are required).
2. The finished solution must be allowed to cool. An hour after this, it must be filtered using a funnel with cotton wool or special filter paper.
3. After standing for several hours, let’s filter the composition again.
4. We tie a larger grain of salt to a copper wire or thread and lower it inside the container. It should be suspended without touching the bottom. The jar should be covered with paper to prevent dust from entering.
5. After a day or two, the bottom, walls, and the wire itself become overgrown with many small crystals. We take the second vessel, carefully move our embryo there and pour the liquid.
6. Fill the remaining crystals with water again, and then constantly maintain the liquid level in the jar with the growing crystal. About once a week, the solution must be filtered to remove precipitated crystals.
7. After a few days, growth will become clearly noticeable. Continue growing as much as you like until you get the desired result. Then carefully remove the miracle stone, rinse it carefully and cover it with clear nail polish to give it strength.

The term “crystal” should be understood as a substance in which the smallest particles, atoms, are arranged in a certain order. They form crystal lattice- three-dimensionally periodic ordered spatial arrangement.

As a result, externally the crystals have the appearance of regular symmetrical polyhedra. They can vary greatly in shape and have from four to several hundred edges that intersect each other at certain angles.

Salt is a member of the crystal family

One such solid with an ordered symmetrical structure is ordinary salt.

It is a food product that occurs naturally as a mineral called halite. A large amount of it is found in other salty sources. If you look at grains of salt with a microscope or magnifying glass, you will notice that they have flat edges. This means they are in a crystalline state. In this article we will talk about how to make a salt crystal yourself. It's actually not difficult. To understand how salt crystals form, that is, the crystallization process, we suggest you carry out an interesting experiment at home. It is advisable for the child to perform it under the guidance of an adult. Remember that the shape of a salt crystal can be different, including cubic, prismatic, or any other more complex one. However, the sides of the salt always intersect at right angles.

Let's talk about how to make a crystal from salt: necessary supplies and tools

Well, let's get to work. What materials and tools will we need to do this? interesting experience? Of course, water, transparent glass glasses, a string or thick thread, a wooden spatula. You should also prepare a ballpoint pen or a regular pencil.

And most importantly, you need to be patient. The fact is that the crystallization process takes time - about three weeks. How to make a crystal from salt? Take good salt, without impurities. It is advisable to purchase a product with a purity of at least 98%, otherwise the experiment may not be successful. If the salt contains a large number of various impurities, the specimen will turn out ugly and will have flaws. From salt, let's start by preparing a highly concentrated solution. Pour warm water (200 ml) into a glass or jar and start adding salt. Don’t forget to constantly stir the liquid with a wooden spatula. This is necessary so that the salt dissolves well. After the solution is ready (this can be determined by the fact that the added salt has ceased to dissolve in a glass of water with normal stirring), the mixture should be heated. Fill the saucepan with water, put it on the fire, and heat the water. Then carefully place a glass of concentrated saline solution into it and wait until it warms up.

We continue our work on growing beautiful salt crystals

Then we take out our glass tumbler from the pan and leave it alone.

We attach a thread to the shaft of a ballpoint pen (pencil), to which we tie a small crystal of salt. We place the rod on the glass and immerse the rope with the “seed” in the solution. It is on this salt crystal that our beautiful exhibit will grow. That's all, now all we have to do is wait. We place the glass in a warm place and monitor the crystallization process every day. Under no circumstances should you shake, turn over or lift the container with the solution. Gradually the crystal will grow and become quite large. When this happens, you can carefully remove it from the solution. We recommend drying it with a napkin, but be extremely careful - your specimen is very fragile. Trim the excess thread and coat the crystal with clear varnish to extend its life. Now you know how to get salt crystals at home. We hope you will be able to repeat our simple experiment.

Crystals from the experience of creating a beautiful exhibit

If you want to grow large, even and beautiful specimens, pay attention to the following experience. To work you will need the following materials and tools:

• transparent glass;
• water;
• sea ​​salt;
• paper;
• napkin;
• wooden spatula;
• a medium-sized flat pebble.

The technology of the crystal growing process is as follows. First, pour not too hot water into a glass and start pouring sea ​​salt, gradually, one teaspoon at a time. At the same time, do not forget to stir with a spatula. Salt must be added to the liquid until it stops dissolving. Now take a napkin and filter the resulting solution through it. This is done so that specks do not interfere with the formation of an even and beautiful sample.

The process of creating large salt crystals

How to make a crystal from salt: after filtering, put a small pebble into the solution (can be replaced with a nut) and set it to cool. Remember that the slower our salty liquid cools, the larger the crystals will be. It is advisable to cover the glass with paper and place it in a dark place, protected from drafts. After two or three days, you will see how your pebble will become overgrown with small crystals. Carefully ensure that the solution completely covers the “seed” at all times. You should also clean the liquid weekly to remove dust and excess crystals that form at the bottom of the glass. As it evaporates, you need to add highly concentrated water to the container. Make sure it is clean and not cold (room temperature). In addition, it is necessary to periodically remove the crust that appears at the bottom of the container. After two to three weeks, your crystal will reach approximately 2-3 cm in length. And in order to receive a larger specimen, it will take more time - about 6 weeks.

Correcting salt crystals

Remember that you may not get beautiful and even crystals right away. Any business requires practice. We advise you to carefully correct the crystallization of the samples, removing not very beautiful growths. This can be done using a sharp knife, scraping off the excess. Also, using Vaseline, you can stop the formation of edges. If necessary, the Vaseline layer can be removed from the sample with acetone. When your crystal grows to the desired size, you can carefully remove it from the solution. After this, you should gently wipe the edges with a napkin. You can cover the sample with hairspray: this will make your crystal less fragile, brittle and retain its beautiful appearance for a long time.

Original craft made from table salt crystals

At home, you can not only grow an ordinary salt crystal, but also make an interesting craft. To do this you will need the following tools and materials:

• water;
• salt;
• wire;
• threads;
• filter paper;
• jar - 2 pcs.;
• pot;
• wooden spatula.

Let's start the work by dissolving the salt in water. Add it to the liquid in small portions, adding the next one only after the previous one has completely dissolved. When the salt stops dissolving, move on to the next step. Take a pan, fill it with water and place the container on the stove over low heat. We place a jar of saline solution in it. We monitor the heating process. We continue to dissolve the salt, bringing the temperature to 65 degrees. That's it, turn off the gas, but do not remove the jar from the pan yet. The fact is that the temperature difference can cause glass containers to burst. After the solution has cooled, you can safely remove the jar from the pan.

Solution filtration and crystallization

After this, we begin to clean the solution from impurities. Take a clean jar and attach filter paper to its neck. Now carefully pour the solution into a new container. All undissolved salt crystals and impurities remain on the filter paper. We get a clean solution. Now we put the jar of liquid in a cool place and make a “seed”. We take copper wire and use it to make any animal shape, flower, twig, or star. We wrap the wire with thread. Place the workpiece in a jar with saline solution, cover the container with a napkin, leaving only a small gap. That's all, all that remains is to wait for the crystals to grow from the salt. After the wire has grown over, you can remove it from the solution. This must be done very carefully, as the salt crystals may break.