Growing crystals from different types of salt. Salt crystals - growing large and colorful beautiful decorative crystals (110 photos)
How to grow crystals at home and make money on it? How to make money on this interesting business, we will tell a little later in our article. First, we will touch on the issue of growing crystals and what you need to know for this.
How to grow a crystal?
What is a crystal? And everyone immediately saw a beautiful polyhedron, all iridescent and sparkling. There are two ways to grow crystals at home: by cooling the solution and by evaporating the water. The method of cooling the solution is that when cooled, the dissolution of salts in the solution slows down and they precipitate. If the solution is cooled quickly, then many small crystals are obtained, if slowly, then several large ones. The second method is the gradual removal of water from a saturated solution by simply evaporating the liquid.
Growing crystals is quite an interesting process. There are cases on the Internet when enthusiasts grew crystals of such a size that their friends were invited to lift or move it. When working with growing crystals, you should remember about your own safety and do not neglect some rules:
It is impossible to use unknown reagents for experiments;
It is impossible to eat at the same time during the experiment;
It is impossible to keep reagents for growing crystals in an open and accessible place, especially if you have small children and animals;
It is advisable to use rubber gloves during the experiment, if a solution of salts, acid gets on the skin or in the eyes, rinse everything with running water, if necessary, consult a doctor.
Such instruction will help you to be somewhat more attentive to your health and the health of your family members. Also, to grow crystals, you will need patience, a place where the solutions will stand (preferably away from the battery), and the desire to make something that will make everyone gasp.
Crystal growth technology
Now let's see what we can grow? Let's start simple, with sugar.
How to grow a crystal from sugar.
Such crystals are often served with expensive teas in cafes and restaurants. It looks simple, sugar crystals, with different flavors and color palettes on a stick. The cost of such sticks is from 100 rubles, depending on the size. Serve them for stirring tea, very nice. It will be interesting to grow such crystals with children at home, because after the crystals grow up, they can be absorbed like a lollipop.
For 5 crystalline sugar sticks you will need:
Two glasses of water;
Five glasses of sugar;
Five wooden sticks (you can use Chinese sticks or toothpicks);
Pot;
Food coloring for color;
We take a quarter cup of water, two tablespoons of granulated sugar and make syrup by heating over a fire. Take a stick, dip in syrup and roll in granulated sugar. Let the grains of sugar stick well, leave the stick overnight. In the morning we take a saucepan, pour two glasses of water and two and a half glasses of sugar into it and put it all on the stove. When all the sugar has dissolved, then pour out the remaining sugar (2.5 cups) and mix. And all this is cooked over low heat until completely dissolved, then leave it for 20 minutes to cool. Food coloring can be added during the cooking period. Next, the syrup is poured into glasses and sugar sticks are lowered into them, we fasten them with clothespins so that they do not touch the walls of the glass and its bottom. We cover the top of the glasses with a film so that dust does not get in. After seven days, we can see beautiful sugar crystal sticks. Very tasty!
Crystals of sodium chloride or table salt.
It is the second ingredient after sugar that every kitchen has. The only thing is, do not take “Extra” salt or iodized salt, waste your time. Crystals from this salt are not obtained. You can dissolve the salt at room temperature, you can heat the solution a little to speed up the dissolution, but do not boil, be sure to filter it. To give the solution color, you can also use food coloring, watercolor paints. Gouache cannot be used, the growth of crystals will stop.
So, we take a glass of water, dissolve the salt in it in small portions until the dissolution stops. Pour the solution into a glass jar and leave for a day. After a day, at the bottom, you will notice small crystals, select one of them with tweezers and tie it to a silk thread. So you got the so-called "seed" for growing a crystal.
Next, strain the solution again and remove any small crystals from the bottom. Dip the "seed" in the saline solution and begin to observe the growth of our crystal. On average, it will take two to three weeks to grow a small crystal. By the way, any object covered with frozen grains of salt can also act as a “seed”.
Copper sulphate crystals.
From this chemical reagent, excellent crystals are obtained. Copper sulfate or copper sulfate can be purchased at any gardening store. We take 70-100 grams of copper sulfate (enough for the first time), a glass jar, warm water. We fall asleep in a jar of vitriol and begin to slowly pour water until our ingredient stops dissolving. We filter the solution from any impurities and put it on the window. After a day, several crystals will fall out at the bottom, we take the largest ones, and filter the solution again.
The crystal was tied to a thread and hung up, the main thing is that it does not touch the walls and bottom of the jar. You can put the crystal on the bottom and turn it over for the first time and then tie it. As a result, bluish-blue crystals grow, the shape is a parallelogram.
Salt and copper sulphate crystals are very fragile. After you take them out of the solution, dry them with a towel, cover them with a colorless varnish. After that, they can be freely picked up and used for souvenirs and crafts.
What else can crystals be made from?
For example, calcium chloride. This well-known chemical is also sold in the gardening store. The crystals are in the shape of a parallelepiped, you can also add a dye. The next ingredient for growing crystals is iron sulfate. It is also found in gardening stores. With the addition of sulfuric acid, changing its concentration, crystals from iron sulfate can be obtained in various colors and shapes.
You can also use nickel vitriol, copper carbonate, aluminum-ammonium sulfate, aluminum-potassium sulfate, chromium-potassium sulfate, iron-ammonium sulfate, manganese sulfate (react only if there is an industrial hood or outdoors), zinc sulfate, sodium sulfate, sodium iodide. Almost all of these crystals quickly weather and turn into powder, so they are not very suitable for crafts.
But the crystals of ammonium dihydrogen phosphate is a completely different matter. They are very similar to rock crystal and if they are varnished, they will please the eye for a long time. Dihydrogen phosphate itself is sold in a fertilizer store and is not at all expensive.
Another very interesting form grows crystals from potassium sulfate. The shape is reminiscent of a large-cut diamond. Potassium sulfate is also sold at the gardening store, called potassium sulphate. You can not cover the crystal with varnish, it is stored well.
Very beautiful crystals are obtained from red blood salt and sulfur. Not bad crystals are obtained from citric acid, however, they are not stored for a long time.
Well, here, probably, is the entire list of substances that we know for making crystals.
What can be done from the grown crystals. How can I make money growing crystals.
That's the question of questions for which this article was written. The first thing that comes to mind is a set of a young chemist. Not just a kit, but a kit with detailed instructions for growing crystals attached on a disk. The main thing in this business is not to overcharge. Since many of the ingredients are sold in gardening stores and do not cost a lot of money.
Secondly, these are sets for adults. They are called "bank of desires", you grow crystals and make a wish. If he grows up, then he will come true, if he grows up small, then not the way he wanted. Well, if it doesn’t grow at all, then the answer is immediately known.
Third. Sugar sticks for owners of cafes and restaurants. They will be a pleasant surprise for customers and diversify children's leisure.
Fourth. This is the manufacture of various souvenirs, when growing crystals, you can use various beads, rings. Gluing crystals together will be especially beautiful if the colors of the crystals are slightly different shades. You can combine them with semi-precious stones, decorate with various cold porcelain products, etc.
And finally, the fifth. This is the cultivation of large crystals for custom gifts.
Crystals have attracted man since ancient times. Almost all precious jewelry stones, with a few exceptions, are minerals with a clear crystal lattice. Modern technologies make it possible to grow artificial gems that do not differ from real ones in appearance and 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 choose the substance that you want to form into a crystal. Experiments at home have shown that the easiest way is to use ordinary 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. Read the instructions carefully before starting the experiment. Different salts are suitable for the “little miracle”:
- marine;
- cooking;
- copper or iron sulfate;
- potassium chloride;
- potassium alum;
- potassium permanganate.
Exercise extreme caution when handling 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 the growth of single crystals is simpler in execution. Important: the container in which our beautiful stone grows is unacceptable to shake and move, otherwise it will turn out to be of irregular shape. It is forbidden:
- without reason to remove the crystal from the vessel;
- 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've decided to learn how to make a salt crystal. For a little preliminary practice, a ready-made crystal growing kit, which is sold in children's stores, is suitable. You will be able to carry out this process with your child. He will definitely enjoy the job. There is an express way to get what you are looking for in 1 day, but then you will get not one large, but several small crystals fused. If you are ready for the expectation and impressive results, we will tell you how to grow a crystal from table salt.
Necessary materials and tools
For the intended experience, it is necessary to prepare a set of required materials, which should contain:
- two transparent containers (so that we can observe the growth);
- the substance that we will use for growing (in our case, this is table salt);
- stick or tablespoon;
- funnel;
- filter paper;
- a thread, and better, if any, a thin copper wire;
- lots of time and patience.
Step-by-step instruction
All the necessary materials are prepared, it's time to start making a grain of salt with 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 crystal is growing. In order for the molecules to stick, you need to cool the liquid or evaporate it. The slow cooling method achieves a faster result. We bring to your attention instructions on how to make crystals from table salt:
- In a glass container (it is better not to use a plastic one), we prepare a saturated saline solution. Add salt to hot water, mix thoroughly (36-38 grams of salt is required per 100 grams of water heated to a temperature of 80 °).
- The finished solution must be allowed to cool. An hour after that, it must be filtered - using a funnel with cotton wool or special filter paper.
- The composition that has stood for several hours is filtered again.
- We tie a larger grain of salt to a copper wire or thread and lower it inside the container. It should be suspended, not touching the bottom. The jar should be covered with paper to avoid dust.
- After a day or two, the bottom, walls, and the wire itself are overgrown with many small crystals. We take the second vessel, carefully move our embryo there and pour the liquid.
- The remaining crystals are again filled with water, and then all the time we maintain the liquid level in the jar with a growing crystal. Approximately once a week, the solution must be filtered from the precipitated crystals.
- After a few days, growth will become clearly noticeable. Continue growing as long as you want until you get the desired result. Then carefully remove the miracle stone, rinse gently and cover with colorless nail polish to give strength.
Crystals are a beautiful and unique natural phenomenon that has fascinated mankind for many centuries. However, thanks to science and the research of scientists, today they can be made independently.
Growing crystals is an interesting and exciting activity not only for children, but also for adults.
If you tell your child about the wonderful world of crystals, then he will undoubtedly ask you: “How to make a crystal at home?”
To get 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 the 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 improvised 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 out of salt?” Indeed, it can be found in the kitchen of everyone. So why spend money on a more "refined" material when you can use just salt!
As a rule, beginners begin to grow crystals from this material. To do this, you need to prepare a saline solution. Pour a little warm water into a glass dish (you can take a jar or a glass). Add salt until it no longer dissolves, while always stirring the solution. To completely dissolve the salt, it is necessary to maintain a high temperature of the water in the glass as long as possible. Therefore, it can be put in a warm place or placed in a pot of warm water. By the way, if you are interested in how to make a crystal from sugar, then follow the same technique, replacing salt with granulated sugar.
So, the concentrated solution is ready. Now it is necessary to hang a thread on a jumper (for example, a pencil) with a crystal of the same salt attached to its end. It is he who will become the foundation for the birth of our future crystals, which are formed 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 want to warn you right away that vitriol is a harmful chemical. Therefore, you need to work with it very carefully. As a rule, this is done with gloves. Never let this product get into 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 particular chemical to warm water. Everything else is done in the same way as described above.
The only difference is the color. Crystals from copper sulphate will be dark blue, and from table salt - white.
Crystal figurines
Were you curious to learn how to make a crystal at home? Do you want us to tell you how to make crystal figurines?
There are two such ways. The first involves the preliminary cultivation of crystals of different colors (for example, from vitriol and salt) and their further bonding with glue to obtain one or another figure. It can 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, what you have enough imagination for. After you have made the frame, you need to wrap it with ordinary threads and dip it in saline, then dry it. After drying, small crystals form on the threads. They will be the basis for growing the main crystals. After 5-7 days you will have a beautiful crystallized figure.
Growing crystals at home is a very long, laborious and painstaking process, but it is very exciting and definitely worth the time spent. This experience is very popular with children, and most of the methods below are completely safe. So, consider the main ways to grow crystals at home.
How to grow a crystal from sugar at home
It is best to start your experiments on growing crystals at home with the most interesting and enjoyable ones. The easiest way to grow a crystal is from sugar, and if you do this experiment with children, they will be able to taste the fruits of their creativity at the end of the process.
In order to grow a crystal from sugar, we will need:
- 2 glasses of water;
- 5 glasses of granulated sugar;
- wooden skewers;
- paper;
- small saucepan;
- several clear glasses.
The process of making a crystal begins with the manufacture of sugar syrup. To do this, take 1/4 cup of water and two tablespoons of sugar. Mix, bring on fire until syrup is obtained. Dip a wooden skewer into the syrup and sprinkle with a little sugar. The more evenly the skewer is sprinkled, the more ideal and beautiful the crystal will come out. In a similar way, we make the required number of blanks and leave them to dry completely, for example, overnight.
Some time has passed, our skewers have dried out and now we can move on to the next part of the experience. Pour 2 cups of water into a saucepan and pour 2.5 cups of sugar. On low heat, stirring constantly, turn our mixture into a sugar syrup. Stirring must be carried out carefully, until the sugar is completely dissolved! Add the remaining 2.5 cups of sugar and also, until completely dissolved, cook the syrup. After that, leave the syrup to cool slightly, this will take approximately 15-20 minutes. This time we continue to prepare blanks from skewers, the basis for our future crystal. We cut paper circles a little larger than the diameter of our glasses and pierce the resulting circles with chopsticks. The main thing is that the paper is firmly fixed on the skewer. The paper will act as the holder and lid for the glass.
Pour the cooled, but still hot syrup into glasses. At this stage, a little food coloring can be added to the syrup, then the crystal will eventually turn out to be colored. We lower our blank (a stick with a circle of paper) into the glass and leave it alone until the crystal ripens. It is important not to touch the walls and bottom! Well, we do the same with all the remaining blanks.
It will take about a week to grow a crystal. This is a very interesting and exciting process that children really like. Every day the crystal grows and takes on its individual shape. Some crystals grow faster, some slower, but the bulk matures in exactly 7 days. The resulting sugar crystal is very good to use with the whole family at a home tea party or just nibble in moments of blues! So, it's not only interesting, but also delicious;).
How to grow a crystal from salt at home
Growing a crystal from salt at home is a fairly simple process, but it requires patience and care. However, the result of the experiment exceeds all expectations. We will need:
- pure water;
- pot;
- 2 glass jars;
- salt;
- strong thread.
We heat water in a saucepan, we heat it very much, and do not bring it to a boil, the experiment will not work in boiling water. After heating the water, we gradually begin to pour salt into it, stirring constantly until the portion of salt is completely dissolved. Then add more salt, stir until dissolved. And so on until the salt ceases to dissolve. Pour the resulting saturated saline solution into a jar and let it stand well for a day. The next day we will see a lot of small crystals of settled salt in the jar. We choose the most beautiful and largest of them, carefully take it out and tie it to a thread. Carefully pour the solution into an empty jar, making sure that the settled crystals do not fall into a new vessel. Then we lower the crystal on a thread into a filtered saline solution and stock up on patience. After 2-3 days you will notice an increase in the crystal, this growth will continue for some time until the end of growth. After you notice that the crystal has stopped growing, you can either end the experiment if you are satisfied with the result, or prepare another saturated saline solution, as we did above, and lower our crystal there. By the way, if you often change the salt solution, then the growth of the crystal will be faster.
It is very important not to cool the solution on purpose and not to shake it, in this case crystals of an imperfect shape are obtained. Also, do not add any dyes, the crystal will not be colored, and the experiment will be ruined.
How to grow a crystal from copper sulfate at home
Growing crystals from copper sulphate at home is already the next level of complexity, which requires compliance with safety requirements and can only be performed by children under adult supervision.
For the experiment we need:
- water, preferably distilled;
- glass jar;
- copper salt (copper sulfate or copper sulfate, which can be bought at a gardening store).
Before buying, be sure to consider the substance, it should be a bright blue homogeneous powder. In the presence of lumps and green blotches, it is better to refuse the purchase. It will go to summer residents on the farm, but we, novice chemists, will not.
So, the correct vitriol is purchased. Pour about 100 grams of powder into a glass jar and pour a little hot water, stirring constantly. We must get a saturated solution in which the copper salt can no longer dissolve. Filter the solution and put it in the refrigerator. The next day at the bottom we will find many crystals. We select a couple of the largest and most beautiful and place them in a container with a filtered solution. Before that, we act with crystals in the same way as in the previous experiment with table salt, namely, we fix it on a thread and lower it into a jar. We cover the vessel with thin paper and stock up on patience. Growing a crystal from copper sulfate takes several weeks. After the formation of the crystal is completed, it must be carefully removed, rinsed with cold running water and coated with colorless nail polish.
Do you want to surprise your child and involve him in the world of science? Do a crystal growing experiment at home. These are solid bodies with a symmetrical structure. They are used for decor, games, and sweet ones are even eaten. We invite you to find out how and from what you can grow a crystal.
Learn how to grow a crystal at home.
How to grow a crystal from sugar
Sugar crystals are grown for one week. They are added to tea, served as a sweet snack and decorated with desserts. Prepare the crystals on a wooden stick.
You will need:
- sugar - 5 glasses;
- water - 2 glasses;
- wooden sticks;
- paper;
- glasses or jars.
If you want the crystals to be colored, use food coloring.
From 50 ml of water and 2 tbsp. l. boil sugar syrup. Sprinkle sugar on a flat surface. Dip wooden sticks in syrup and then roll in sugar. Leave overnight to dry.
Boil the rest of the water and gradually add the sugar. Stir until completely dissolved. Boil the syrup and leave on the stove for 10-15 minutes. Make holes in the paper. Pour hot syrup into clear glasses or jars. Stick the sticks into the paper and immerse in the solution so that it covers the glass and holds the blanks. After 7 days the crystals will grow.
How to grow a crystal at home from table salt
Use edible salt for growing. The time of the chemical process is 1–1.5 weeks.
You will need:
- water - 500 ml;
- salt - 4-5 tbsp. l.;
- glasses - 2 pcs;
- rope;
- filter;
- holder.
As a holder, use a pencil, clothespins or cardboard.
Pour salt into hot water and stir. Filter undissolved crystals through gauze. Select a large crystal of salt (seed). Tie it with the edge of a rope or fishing line and place it in a saline solution. Attach the second end of the thread to the holder. Make sure that the seed does not touch the bottom and walls of the glass. Leave the solution in a warm place.
This recipe is suitable for growing copper sulfate crystals. The substance is sold in stores for summer residents. Pour vitriol with water up to 80 degrees, otherwise it will not dissolve. You will find the blank in a bag with the substance. Or cook it yourself. Leave the solution to cool, and after 30-60 minutes formations will appear at the bottom. Also tie the seed with a thread and lower it into the solution for 1-2 weeks.