Crystals

DID YOU KNOW!

Diamonds can burn producing carbon dioxide gas, the same gas you exhale.

WHAT ARE DIAMONDS MADE OF?

Diamonds, coal, and the lead in your pencils are made of carbon. They differ in how the carbons are connected.

A diamond like most solids is an example of a crystal. Crystals are solids made of regular repeated building blocks.

HOW DO CRYSTALS FORM?

Formation is the process by which a solid falls out of a supersaturated solution. This solution contains more dissolved material than normal. Heating a solution is one way to force more material to dissolve. When cooled, the excess particles in the solution tend to stick to one another or to some rough surface forming a seed crystal or starting crystal. As other particles add on to the seed crystal the crystal grows. The particles forming the crystal are no longer dissolved and thus have fallen out of solution.

DISCOVER FOR YOURSELF

Borax is a water softener found with laundry soaps. Make a Supersaturated Solution of Borax using this recipe:

1. Mix 1 cup of borax and 2 cups of water in a cooking pot.
2. Heat the mixture to boiling, stirring until all the borax dissolves.
3. After cooling, pour the liquid into a quart canning jar.
4. Stand the jar where it can be observed, but not be disturbed. For best viewing have a light,such as a desk lamp or a window behind the jar.
5. Wrap one end of a 12-inch craft stem around a pencil. Lay the pencil across the top of the jar so that the stem hangs as far into the liquid as possible.
6. It takes about three hours for the crystals to form. Then they grow relatively fast.

Advanced Learners

Find out how to grow other crystals.
You can find out more about crystals in Janice VanCleave’s Super Science Challenges

Janice VanCleave is the author of fifty-two science experiment books for kids with fifteen foreign translations. Children and educators around the world use her books to explore the world of science. And now Homeschool Bliss readers can too! Visit her website Science Project Ideas for Kids