How to grow crystals at home and make money on it? How to make money on it 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 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. Delicious!

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 various colors and forms.

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 delight 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 set, but a set with an attached disk detailed instructions for growing crystals. 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.

Ordinary table salt can be turned into an interesting art object, the process of creating which will be exciting for children and adults. Do not miss the unique opportunity, without leaving your home, to observe one of the natural phenomena - the formation of crystals.

Required fixtures and materials

We carefully prepare everything you need to grow a crystal from salt. Everyone in the house will always have everything you need for this work. It has been noticed that a larger crystal grows in a larger capacity, but in this case a lot of salt will be needed:

We take coarse and clean salt. Impurities in it are not allowed, as they will interfere with the formation of crystals correct form. You can use sea salt, despite the complex chemical composition.
It is better to use filtered or distilled water.
2 containers: made of glass to observe the process and to heat water on fire.
Stick (pencil, ruler, etc.).
Thread or thin copper wire.
Funnel.
Filter paper (gauze, cotton wool) is used to filter the solution.
Napkins.

Growing preparation

The higher the temperature, the more the substance dissolves in water. A seed is added to the resulting supersaturated solution, and upon cooling, the molecules adhere to it. Growth begins, depending on how much substance at high temperature dissolved and how much "precipitated" when it was lowered, for example: 2 g of sodium chloride compared to 50 g of copper sulfate.

Unlike other substances, the solubility of table salt is very high; when cooled, the sticking of the substance is minimal, but over time, more and more molecules are added and salt objects increase in size.

The instruction on how to make crystals from salt is quite simple and does not present any difficulty. We bring the water to 80-90 oC, remove from the stove. Gradually add salt (38 g per 100 g of water), constantly stirring, until it begins to dissolve more.

It turns out a supersaturated solution, the salt from which will easily crystallize when it is cooled. Lowering the temperature slowly gives the best result.

We place filter paper in the funnel and pour the contents into a glass container after 30-60 minutes. As a result, we remove all small crystals that can interfere with the main process, and get rid of impurities.

We make a notch on a stick for a more stable fixation. We tie one end of the thread (wire) to the notch. At the other end, we tie a knot or hang any small object on which the molecules will build up.

We lower the thread into the middle of the container. From the wire, you can make complex shapes that will become overgrown with crystals. In the photo of salt crystals, you can see a variety of different shapes, depending on the matrix seed.

crystallization process

We cover the top of the jar with a napkin: no foreign impurities should get into the water solution. We place it in a permanent place without temperature fluctuations and try not to move or shake it. Maintaining the same level in the liquid, periodically carefully add a saturated solution of sodium chloride.

Visible shifts are soon observed and after a month a small polycrystal can be seen. The longer it is in solution, the larger it becomes.

At the air-water interface, crystallization occurs more intensively. Variations in the movement of such a seed makes it possible to obtain salt "products" fairly quickly.

And how to make a single crystal from salt? Is it possible to? Experts say that a crystal close to the natural rectangular shape can be obtained quite simply.

In a package of table salt, we select a large crystal and put it on the bottom of the prepared saline solution. Sea salt, as a larger one, is even more suitable for these purposes. To speed up the process, it is transferred to a new saturated solution after a few days. They follow the shape and periodically scrape off excess sticking, trying to keep the shape.

You can see a single crystal much faster: individual crumb crystals appear at the border of air and water in a jar. Transparent, regular shape, they are clearly visible under a magnifying glass.

Coloring and storage

The resulting crystals are dried and coated with a colorless varnish for better preservation. Paint them with different color varnishes.

They will look aesthetically pleasing on a special podium, while being protected from destruction. No dyes are added to the saline solution, as they can only interfere with crystal formation.

The question is often asked: "Is it possible to get a crystal from salt in 1 day?". We hope that the above has already been answered. However, experiment, try, but remember how much time nature spends on growing its miracle!

Photo of salt crystals

Almost everyone can. The main thing is to have the necessary knowledge for the correct conduct of the experiment. A similar practice is carried out in some schools in chemistry lessons. Of course, there are certain rules that cannot be neglected:

Utensils used for growing must not be used for eating.

You need to use only those reagents that you know.

Do not eat or drink while growing.

Materials and resources for the experiment should be stored in an airtight dry place. It is strictly forbidden to give them to children or animals.

The experiment is carried out in a separate, closed room with gloves and protective clothing.

If the solution comes into contact with the skin, the area should be washed with water. In case of eye contact, seek medical attention immediately.

Keep order in the workplace.

As you understand, all these rules are necessary for growing a crystal at home to be successful, without undesirable consequences.

How to grow a crystal at home

For cooking, you will need a glass container and a substance from which the crystal will sprout. For those who conduct such experiments for the first time, it is recommended to use salt or copper sulfate. The first can be purchased at any grocery store, and the latter - where fertilizers are sold for summer cottages and gardens. Also, both can be purchased at chemical reagent stores.

The experiment itself is carried out as follows:

Substance is placed in hot water in small portions. The reagent is stirred until a concentrated solution is obtained. Its main feature is that the substance will cease to dissolve.

The resulting solution is cooled and after half an hour filtered with a funnel and a piece of cotton wool. The procedure is repeated after a day.

A seed (a small crystal) is placed in the solution. 3 days later, small crystals form in the container, which will prevent the growth of the main one. To get rid of them, the liquid is filtered and poured into another container. The main crystal is also placed there.

Gradually, the liquid in the container evaporates, and the seed begins to grow. If it just lay at the bottom, the direction of growth will be limited from below. If the crystal at the very beginning is brought to copper wire, only the walls of the vessel will be the limitation. When all the liquid has evaporated, there remains in the container

A crystal is a solid body, the particles of which are arranged in such a way that they form a three-dimensional periodic spatial packing - visually it looks like a regular symmetrical polyhedron. Crystals are known for their unusual physical and chemical properties and therefore it is not surprising that they are the subject of study in such sciences as crystal physics, crystallography, crystal optics and crystal chemistry. The largest crystal created by nature was discovered in Mexico: its main element was gypsum, the length reached 15 m, and the width was 1 m.

Many people think that crystals are found only in natural conditions. In fact, this is a big misconception and this article will help the reader to verify this. After reading the material in this article, everyone will be able to reproduce the experience at home and grow a crystal from salt.

Required Components and Tools

In the process of creating a crystal at home, you will need:

salt - its purity directly depends appearance crystal, so priority remains with sea salt; ordinary table salt can also be used, but unnecessary impurities often come across with it;
water - it is advisable to use distilled; in extreme cases, ordinary tap water, previously passed through a filter and boiled, will do;
capacity - the best option glassware will become; containers protected from oxidation will come in handy; a bowl, vessel or bowl - should be as clean as possible, since even a dust particle can become the core of the formation of another microcrystal and greatly slow down the development of the main crystal;
either a separate salt crystal, or a wire, or a thread will act as a frame for the future design;
wooden stick - stir the solution;
paper napkins;
gauze;
nail polish.

Instruction

The process of growing a crystal includes several stages.

We fill the existing container with a saline solution containing 100 ml of water, the temperature of which ranges from 50º C to 60º C, and 40-45 g of salt. The liquid must cool, after which it must be filtered through gauze folded in several layers.
The frame for the future crystal (whether it be a thread or a wire) is lowered into a container with a solution already poured into it so that it is located vertically and does not touch the inner surface of the vessel - in this case, an elongated object will be obtained. The shape of the crystal can be adjusted in advance if the wire acts as the base - it can be bent, twisted in any way.
A solution with a fixed base should be protected from dust and small debris.
The vessel is left in a secluded place where the crystal will be protected from mechanical impact (shaking, etc.), light, heat, temperature fluctuations and drafts.
The crystal expands by drawing salt from its environment, i.e. its concentration in the liquid will gradually decrease. To restore the necessary balance from time to time (every 5-6 days), the solution needs to be refreshed by adding new portions of water with salt, but completely replacing it or removing the crystal from it is unacceptable.
When the crystal reaches the planned size, it should be carefully removed from the solution, transferred to a paper towel and blotted with a soft cloth. Since the resulting object is characterized by increased fragility, it is necessary to cover its surface with a colorless manicure varnish - as a result of this procedure, the crystal will acquire the necessary strength, and it will already be possible to think about how to dispose of the resulting little thing. If you refuse to use varnish, then you can observe how the crystal is destroyed.

colored crystals

You can grow crystals of different colors using the following blowing elements:

copper sulphate - blue crystals grow on its basis; it can be purchased at specialized gardening stores. However, you need to focus on the fact that this substance exhibits toxic properties when it comes into contact with mucous membranes, so it is recommended to use gloves when working with it and take other precautions;
manicure varnish - instead of colorless, you can use varnishes of other colors;
food colorings - desired result will be obtained if a dye of the desired color is added to the solution at the manufacturing stage.

Crystal shape

It is possible to achieve the desired crystal shape, as mentioned earlier, by giving the framework structure the necessary form before immersion in a saline solution. The areas of the framework, where the appearance of crystals is not planned, are cleaned with a knife and covered with a greasy substance (vaseline or glycerin), which is subsequently easily removed with alcohol-containing liquids or acetone.

Why can't grow a crystal:

The most common causes of collapse during crystal growth are:

the crystal that had just begun to emerge has dissolved - insufficient salt concentration in the solution;
the appearance of several small crystals, although only one of a large size was planned - the presence of impurities in the liquid, salt or dust particles on the container itself;
uneven color of the crystal - the dye did not dissolve well, which means that it should have been stirred more thoroughly.

In conclusion, it must be said that getting a crystal from salt at home is a completely solvable task that does not require any special skills, abilities, knowledge and ingredients. Taking on this matter, it is important not to forget about the elementary safety rules.

Video tutorial: how to grow beautiful purple crystals at home

Instruction

In order to grow a salt crystal at home, you should prepare necessary equipment, materials and tools.
1) The main ingredient is salt. The purer it is, the more successful the result of the experiment will be, and the clearer the crystal faces will be. Considering that table salt in most cases in itself a large number of small debris, it is better to give preference to sea salt without dyes and all kinds of additives.
2) It is also more correct to take water that is maximally purified from various impurities, i.e. distilled. If this is not at hand, pre-filter plain water.
3) For growing crystals, use a thoroughly washed non-metallic container that will not oxidize under the influence of salts. It is better to take glassware. If even the smallest specks still appear inside the bowl, they will certainly slow down the growth of the main crystal, turning into a kind of basis for the development of small specimens.
4) The basis for the future large crystal can be either a small crystal of salt or any other object, for example, a wire, a thread, a piece of a branch.
5) Also useful when forming a crystal from salt is a wooden stick for stirring the solution, paper napkins, filter or gauze, varnish for coating the finished salt crystal.

Prepare the materials and tools necessary for growing a crystal, be patient and get to work. The process itself will not require special participation from you. In a glass cup, prepare a saturated saline solution from 100 ml of hot water and 40 g of salt, let the liquid cool and pass it through filter paper or cheesecloth folded in several layers.

The next step is to place the object, around which the crystal will subsequently form, into a container with saline. If you want to get a copy of the traditional form, put an ordinary grain of salt in the bottom of the cup. If you want to grow an elongated crystal, tie a grain of salt to a thread and fasten it in a container so that it does not touch its bottom and walls. If your plans are to obtain a complex bizarre shape, a small curved twig or twisted wire should serve as the basis for the future crystal. As a basis for a crystal, you can use absolutely any object that is not subject to salt oxidation.

Be sure to cover the cup with the crystal with a lid, a sheet of paper or a napkin to prevent debris and dust from getting into it. Next, send the container for storage in a dark, cool place without drafts and provide it with complete peace of mind. During the development of the crystal, do not allow changes in air humidity and sudden changes in temperature in the room where it is located, exclude shaking it and moving it too often. Do not place the crystal near heating appliances and near the stove.

As the crystal grows, the salt content of the liquid surrounding it will decrease. With this in mind, once a week add a saturated saline solution to the container. When the crystal has grown to the desired size, carefully remove it from the liquid, place it on a clean paper towel and blot gently with a soft cloth. In order for the fragile crystal to gain strength, cover it with a colorless nail polish. If this is not done, the craft will collapse. In a dry air environment, the crystal will crumble into powder, with high humidity it will turn into gruel.

White crystals are obtained from table and sea salt. You can get a craft of a different shade with the help of several simple ways.
1) A colored salt crystal can be obtained if you use not ordinary salt, but, for example, copper sulfate, which can endow the result of your work with a rich blue color.
2) Instead of clear nail polish, you can use a color coat to treat the crystal.
3) At the stage of preparing the crystal, add food coloring to the salt solution, for example, to color Easter eggs.

If you notice that the crystal does not take on the shape that was planned, carefully scrape off the excess areas with a sharp knife or nail file. Subsequently, treat those places of the crystal that you would not like to allow to grow with glycerin or any other thick fatty compound. You can remove the applied product with alcohol or acetone.

It is possible to fail in growing a crystal from salt for several reasons. First, a piece of salt taken as a basis can. This is usually signaled by an insufficiently saturated saline solution that you used for growth. Secondly, instead of one large crystal, you can get several small ones at once. This can happen due to the presence of foreign impurities in the solution or the ingress of specks, dust particles and other undesirable objects into it. Thirdly, when obtaining colored specimens, the color of the finished crystals may turn out to be uneven. The main reason for this is insufficiently thorough mixing of the dye after adding it to the brine.

In order to grow a crystal from salt, you first need to prepare a sufficiently concentrated salt solution. Salt is added to a glass of water until it no longer dissolves during stirring.

Now you should heat the resulting mixture to achieve complete dissolution of the selected salt. A glass of salt solution is placed in a container of hot water. Then the resulting concentrated salt solution is poured into a special glass or container. With the help of a jumper (it can also be made from a ball-bearing rod), a crystalline "seed" is suspended on a thread - a salt crystal, so that it is completely immersed in the resulting solution and does not touch the walls of the chemical glass. Also, the crystal can be lowered to the bottom of the glass. On this "seed" your future crystal will grow. The container with saline should be placed in a warm place and left open. To grow a crystal from salt, you need to wait a while. After a few days, your crystal will increase significantly in size. After three days after the start of the experiment, the seeded thread, dipped into a concentrated saline solution, will turn into a "necklace" of crystals. If you want your crystal to grow even faster, you must repeat the procedure for preparing the solution. Your "seed" can be placed in a new salt solution and add the required portion of table salt. It must be remembered that the saline solution must be highly concentrated - during the preparation of the mixture, salt must remain at the bottom of the beaker. For example, about 35 grams of edible salt can be dissolved in 100 ml of water at a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius. As the temperature increases, the solubility of table salt increases. When your crystal grows to the desired size, it should be pulled out of the solution and dried with a soft cloth or paper towel. Then the thread is cut off, and the edges of the crystal are covered with a colorless varnish in order to prevent it from "weathering" in the air. Using this method you can table salt of any shade or shape.

Advice 5: How to grow a crystal from table salt at home

Growing a crystal on your own, at home, will be possible even for people who are little familiar with chemical processes, and the result, like the manufacturing process itself, will undoubtedly bring great pleasure. So, get ready, we begin to conjure and "chemize".

You will need

Colored soluble salt (dichloride or nickel sulfate) or common salt; spring or filtered water, metal container, stove, rope (woolen or pile thread), colorless nail polish.

Instruction

To get started, purchase a colored soluble salt, such as dichloride or sulfate. You can buy this substance in almost any pharmacy or order it online. If it is impossible to get the above material, ordinary table salt is also suitable.

Take a glass of clean water. Water and salt should be in a ratio of 1/2.5, i.e., for example, for 100 ml of water you will need at least 250 grams of salt. Slowly add the salt to the water and stir until completely dissolved.

Remove the container with the resulting supersaturated solution and, without letting it cool, lower a small rope inside (there will be woolen or any other pile thread, as it will help the crystal to be better attached to the base).

Over the next three days, salt crystallization begins. Cooling the solution too quickly can result in an irregular and unattractive shape. That is why it should be cooled, it is best to do this at room temperature. Then you will get the right shape, elegant crystals.

Remove the finished crystal from the solution and blot it on all sides with a paper towel. If necessary, cut off the end of the wool and immediately cover all the edges with a colorless varnish (regular varnish is suitable for). This operation is mandatory and will help prevent the crystal from so-called weathering (i.e. in direct contact with air)

As you can see, growing crystals is a very entertaining and effortless undertaking. After three days, dipped into the water literally turns into a shiny, sparkling necklace that can become a stylish accessory, decoration on a New Year tree, or just a pride of the first successful witchcraft at home!

Helpful advice

Attention: the success of the experiment and the beauty of the crystal directly depend on the quality of the water, so it is better to choose spring or filtered water.

Sources:

salt crystals

Do you want to grow a beautiful mineral at home? Easily! In nature, minerals are often formed in aqueous mineralized solutions. The same principle can be applied at home. All you need to do is choose which mineral you would like. For example, check out how easy it is to grow the amazing blue mineral chalcanthite at home.

You will need

100 grams of copper sulfate, a jar, 100-150 ml of water, thread, pencil.

Instruction

Buy two bags of blue vitriol at any garden supply store. Usually sold in 50 grams, therefore, you need to purchase 100 grams of vitriol to grow a crystal. Take a small jar and fill it with water. The amount of water should not be large, no more than 150 and not me 100 ml. Heat up the water.

Pour the rest of the contents of the sachets into a jar. Remember, the water must be hot. Stir well to achieve a supersaturated solution. The solution should be dark blue. In the future, a precipitate will form at the bottom of the jar until the solution becomes saturated. When the solution gets rid of supersaturation, the color will change to . If the solution is not supersaturated, there are two solutions. Either buy another bag of blue vitriol, or wait until the water is gone. In this case, it will take several days.

Once a day, the crystal must be pulled out and the solution heated. Also stir the sediment, cool the solution again and lower the vitriol grain again. For smooth edges of the future crystal, growths from the thread can be cleaned off or dissolved.