Copper sulfate is a substance that, due to its beautiful bright blue color, is ideal for growing crystals. You can give them to your loved ones or use them as a decorative element. In any case, they will not leave anyone indifferent, and the manufacturing process can become truly exciting. So, how to grow a crystal from copper sulfate?
Preparatory activities
Copper sulfate can be purchased at almost any hardware store. It is actively used in agriculture for pest control. However, we should not forget that this substance is toxic. When working with copper sulfate at home, be sure to use rubber gloves and prevent it from getting into the esophagus and mucous membranes. After finishing work, wash your hands thoroughly in running water.
You can grow a real miracle from copper sulfate, but do not forget about safety precautions during the manufacturing process
In order to make a crystal, you will need:
- water - if possible, use distilled or, in extreme cases, boiled. Raw tap water is absolutely not suitable due to the content of chlorides in it, which will react with the solution and deteriorate its quality;
- copper sulfate;
- cup;
- wire;
- wool thread - make sure it is thin. You can use long hair. Copper sulfate crystals are transparent and the thread should not be visible through them.
When placing the seed in a container with a solution, make sure that it does not come into contact with the walls or bottom of the container. This can disrupt the crystal growth process and its structure.
Photo gallery: options for DIY crystals
You can grow one large crystal 
By experimenting with temperature and other parameters, you can achieve different shapes and sizes 
Sometimes you get a lot of small crystals 
When illuminated, the crystal looks especially impressive 
Elongated crystals are good to use in compositions
Instructions for growing a crystal
There are two technologies for growing crystals from copper sulfate.
- If you don't want to wait a long time, you can use the quick method. This will take about a week, and as a result you will get many small crystals attached to one another, like a colony of mussel shells.
- The second method is longer. It will help you grow a large, solid crystal that looks like a gemstone.
But both of them are based on working with a saturated solution of a substance.
Note! The higher the water temperature, the faster copper sulfate dissolves in it. But when the liquid reaches +80C°, subsequent heating does not in any way affect the solubility of salts.
Fast way
- Take a 500 ml glass or jar, add 200 g of copper sulfate and fill it with 300 ml of water. Place the container in the sand bath and start heating, stirring constantly. The copper sulfate crystals should completely dissolve.
Thoroughly dissolve copper sulfate in warm water
- Remove the dishes from the sand bath and place them on a cool surface, such as ceramic tiles. The solution should cool slightly. Now you need to place the seed in it. It will serve as a crystal of copper sulfate, which must be selected first - the largest and smoothest.
Place the seed in the solution
- Make sure that the seed does not come into contact with the inner surfaces of the glass. Even if the crystal dissolves, don't worry - it doesn't matter. As it cools, the saturated solution releases salts that settle on the thread. The largest amount of vitriol will concentrate at the bottom of the dish, since this is where the glass comes into contact with the cool surface.
A saturated solution of vitriol will begin to form crystals on surfaces
- Remove the thread with the formed crystals from the container with the solution. Repeat the procedure: place the glass in a sand bath and heat it so that the sediment dissolves. Turn off the heat. Without removing the dishes from the bath, cover it with a lid of suitable diameter (for example, a petri dish) and let the solution cool slightly.
Thread with the first crystals
- Place the thread with crystals in the solution, secure it so that it does not come into contact with the bottom and walls. Cover the container and leave overnight. In the morning you will find in a glass a large cluster of beautiful crystals of an unusual shape.
You can get such a crystal in a day
- You can try to give the cluster of crystals a certain shape. To do this, you need to use wire instead of thread. Bend it into a square, circle, heart or star. The wire will become a strong, stable frame for the future figured crystal. If at the same time you need to limit the growth of some edges, lubricate them with Vaseline or fat.
By growing copper sulfate crystals in a quick way, you don’t have to worry about seeds: you can do without them altogether. The sediment will easily attach to the thread.
Second way
In this case, you can grow a large crystal of copper sulfate, but it will take much longer. In addition, unlike the first method, the choice of seed is fundamentally important. In addition, you will have to make sure that small crystals do not stick to it.
The larger and smoother the crystal of copper sulfate selected from the total mass is, the more beautiful the final product will be.
You will need 200 g of warm water and about 110 g of copper sulfate.
Manufacturing instructions:
- mix vitriol and water in a suitable container (glass or jar), leave for a day. Stir occasionally: the active substance should completely dissolve. After this, filter the solution through cotton wool or special filter paper. The sediment remaining on the surface of the filter can be dried and used again if necessary;
- pour the resulting solution into a clean container;
- select a crystal for seeding and tie it to a thread (hair). Fasten the second end of the thread to a stick and place it horizontally on the container. The seed must be lowered into the solution in a strictly vertical position. Cover the dishes with a piece of cloth to prevent dust from getting inside;
Be sure to cover the container with the solution and seed with a piece of cloth
You may encounter some difficulties while working. They are easy to overcome by following simple rules.
When exposed to air, the copper sulfate crystal loses some of its moisture, erodes and collapses over time. To avoid this, store it in a tightly closed container in a cool place. Experts advise covering it with colorless varnish - this will create a reliable protective film.
How to grow a crystal from copper sulfate at home (video)
Growing copper sulfate crystals is a long process and requires attention and patience. However, the result will definitely please you. Share your experience with us in the comments. Good luck to you!
This article will describe in detail how to grow a crystal from copper sulfate at home. This material can be useful both for schoolchildren when preparing assignments in the subject “chemistry”, and for anyone interested in this science.
Why copper sulfate?
This substance belongs to the class of salts, which means its solution can easily be turned into a solid through the process of crystallization. Growing stone from it, as a rule, occurs much faster than when using materials such as table salt or sugar. In addition, crystals from copper sulfate turn out to be a beautiful blue color. With proper cultivation, they acquire the correct multifaceted shape, so observing the result of your own experience can be very interesting and pleasant.
Another argument in favor of choosing this particular material may be its availability. You can buy a jar of copper sulfate at any store that specializes in selling supplies for gardeners and summer residents.
What do you need to know before starting the experience?
This chapter will provide some theoretical knowledge that will help you in the future grow a crystal from copper sulfate at home. First of all, you need to understand what processes need to happen for the experiment to be successful.
Schoolchildren know from chemistry lessons that many liquid and gaseous substances can acquire a solid consistency. This usually occurs during the crystallization process. But what if the task is to obtain a solid substance from sugar, salt or copper sulfate, which are already such? Science says it is quite possible to do this. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to start the recrystallization process. That is, the result of the experiment can be considered successful if small stones, having dissolved in the liquid, are immediately transformed into the same solid clumps.
Recrystallization
The main condition under which such a process can be carried out is the presence of a supersaturated solution.
This means that growing crystals at home from copper sulfate requires the preparation of such a mixture. A liquid can be called supersaturated with any substance if there is so much material dissolved in it that some of it cannot completely mix with it and settles at the bottom of the container. Therefore, in order to figure out how to grow a crystal from copper sulfate, you must first learn how to make a supersaturated solution.
Hygienic requirements
First of all, it is worth taking care of the necessary sterility in which the experiment should take place. Ideally, an amateur chemist's hair should be covered with a hat, and it is best to wear rubber gloves on his hands. Copper sulfate, if handled carefully and wisely, does not pose any danger to the human body.
All of the above precautions are needed primarily to protect the solution from dust and small particles of foreign materials getting into it. This is extremely undesirable, since other crystals may begin to grow on similar grains of sand that accidentally fall into the liquid, which will slow down the development of the main stone.
Supersaturated solution recipe
To prepare it, you will need a saucepan, water, a jar of copper sulfate, and a container in which the main part of the experiment will be carried out (a vessel with transparent walls is best suited for this purpose, since you will need to observe the growth of the crystal daily). Also, to accomplish this task, you will need a sheet of paper, a match and a thread (it is best if it is not fleecy, but, for example, silk or made from a similar material).
So, let's begin the first stage of making a crystal from copper sulfate at home. The pan with water must be placed on low heat. When the liquid is already hot enough, but has not yet had time to boil, you need to pour a few tablespoons of copper sulfate into it. The water should be stirred until the blue substance is completely dissolved.
Repeat this step multiple times
When this happens, add a couple more tablespoons of copper sulfate. The liquid must be stirred thoroughly again.
Don’t be alarmed if this time not all the crystals of the substance were able to dissolve, and some of them formed a sediment at the bottom of the pan. The appearance of such an excess just means that you have achieved the desired result - namely, you have obtained a supersaturated solution. If this does not happen, then you need to add a few more tablespoons of vitriol to the water and stir again. These steps will have to be repeated until sediment appears at the bottom of the pan.
Making "bait"
This fishing term is sometimes used to describe small crystals of copper sulfate, which serve as the basis for further growing stones from this substance.
To make them you need to take three small particles. When choosing crystals, you need to take into account the criterion of the correctness of their shape. The more perfect the selected pieces are, the more correct and high-quality the clot obtained as a result of your experience will be.
Three particles are placed at the bottom of a transparent vessel and filled with a supersaturated vitriol solution.
After this, the container is covered with a sheet of paper and placed in a place with the most stable temperature conditions. As a rule, experts recommend placing it on a windowsill.
This place in the apartment is considered the most secluded, and therefore nothing can interfere with the experiment. After all the necessary actions have been completed, all further steps for growing a crystal from copper sulfate at home can be postponed for 2 days. During this time, the particles placed in the liquid should grow several times and reach the size of a match head.
Selecting the best candidate
From these ingots it is necessary to select the one that has the most correct shape. This is the so-called “bait”. Next, you need to make a supersaturated solution of copper sulfate again. How to do it is described in previous chapters. It should be strained through cheesecloth and poured back into a transparent container. The crystal chosen as “bait” must be tied to a thread, the other end of which must be secured to a match.
Take a sheet of paper and make a hole in the middle of such a size that a manufactured pebble of copper sulfate can pass through it freely. Pass a thread through this hole so that the crystal is on one side of the sheet and the match is on the other. After this, cover the jar with this paper. In this case, the match, naturally, should lie on top, and the crystal should float in the liquid.
Patience and more patience
The problem of how to make a crystal from copper sulfate has already been almost solved. Now you just need to put the vessel again in a secluded place and wait.
It is necessary to ensure that the crystal is, if possible, located in the center of the jar and does not come into contact with the walls. This can be achieved by moving the piece of paper and adjusting the length of the string with a match as the crystal grows.
Various ways
We bring to your attention several more master classes. Crystals from copper sulfate can be grown in a slightly different way.
The second method is to place the jar with the “bait” in an insulated container or wrap the jar in a blanket or other warm thing. This way you can achieve a slower cooling of the supersaturated solution. This option is more complex than the one described earlier, but as a result of its use, pebbles of a very regular shape are obtained. The next way to grow a crystal from copper sulfate is the easiest.
There is no need to make a “bait”. A thread is placed in a container with a supersaturated solution. In this case, it is best to choose the one that is made of the fluffiest material. Its end is tied to a faceted pencil, which is placed on top of the jar on its walls. A crystal will form on the thread itself.
Depending on temperature conditions, the growing experience can last from one week to several months.
Grown copper crystals
Growing copper crystals is not difficult, they grow quickly and are very beautiful. To do this, you will need copper sulfate, which can be bought at a gardening store, coarse table salt, small nails, a plastic or glass container with a wide neck and water. The first step is to prepare the container. We took a plastic bottle for the experiment (barrel kvass is sold in such containers). The volume of the bottle is 3 liters, but you can take less. The bottom of the container is not flat, but cellular. We could not find another container and considered the cell bottom to be a disadvantage, but it later turned out that the cells provide additional space for crystal growth.
We put on rubber gloves. Pour copper sulfate into the bottom of the container, being careful not to create dust or breathe in the vitriol dust. In total, for a three-liter bottle, three 100 gram bags of vitriol were taken, but four could have been taken. Sprinkle salt on top of the copper sulfate as carefully as possible. This is not easy to do, since the vitriol is fine-crystalline and light, and the salt is coarse-crystalline (pickling) and heavy. Carefully, spoon by spoon (preferably plastic!), add salt.
The experience described shows that we took too little salt. 1 part of copper sulfate and three parts of salt (by volume) were taken. But it would be better to take 5 parts of salt to increase the space for crystal growth. Next time we will do exactly this.
On top of the salt we pour a layer of small iron nails, at least 1 cm thick. I think it is better not to take paper clips and other metal stationery, as they may have some kind of coating (nickel, unknown alloys, plastic).
Experience shows that at other times you should not pour nails directly onto the salt, as the crystals being removed may be damaged. Next time we will place the nails on filter paper placed on top of the salt.
After the “layer cake” is ready. it needs to be filled with a saturated solution of table salt. To do this, boil water, add and stir salt until it stops dissolving (this indicates that the solution has become supersaturated). Cool the resulting solution to room temperature and be sure to filter through a cloth. Carefully pour the cooled and strained solution into a container with a “layer cake”.
In just an hour the water will turn yellowish. This indicates that the chemical reaction has started (Fe + CuSO4 = Cu + FeSO4).
So, our “complex” experience has been collected. We cover the bottle with any lid that will prevent the evaporation of water and place it in a quiet place where it will not experience shaking.
During the entire period of crystal growth, the bottle cannot be moved, turned, shaken, etc. The door next to it should not slam, the floor should not vibrate here. We chose a quiet place behind a closet.
After only 3-4 days, beautiful branch-shaped crystals appeared in the salt at the border with vitriol, which increased in size every day. The crystals grew upward, among the salt, and downward, into the copper sulfate. 
It's time to finish the experiment and look at the crystals. The growth of the crystals continued for about 2.5 - 3 weeks, until the copper sulfate was practically consumed and a darkening appeared in the upper part of the dendrites, indicating the onset of unnecessary side processes.
The solution was carefully drained from the bottle, although in the case where the nails were simply poured onto salt rather than onto filter paper, it was better to pump it out.
Then the thin-walled bottle was carefully cut off at the top with scissors (since the top of the bottle is slightly rounded). The contents were inverted onto a sieve, the copper crystals were removed and washed with running water. This is careful and time-consuming work. Dishes and equipment that were used for the experiment should not be used for storing or preparing food.
So, very beautiful, pinkish-orange copper crystals were grown, in which their shape and structure are clearly visible. They form aggregates and dendrites (tree-like branches).
Unfortunately, when exposed to air, wonderful copper crystals immediately begin to darken and a film of oxides forms on them (copper reacts with CO2 in the air). They need to be dried urgently (we dried them on a sieve on a radiator). But a film of oxides still formed.
Dried crystals can be coated with acrylic varnish (sold in an art salon), or stored in tightly closed plastic boxes.
At home, you can grow crystals of a wide variety of shapes, sizes and even colors. If you use salt or sugar as the crystallization material, you will have to use dyes to obtain a colored crystal. But growing a crystal from copper sulfate at home allows you to immediately obtain a crystal of a beautiful blue color.
The essence of crystallization of copper sulfate is no different from the crystallization of sugar or salt. Copper sulfate has wide application in agriculture, is used as a fertilizer and is sold in garden supply stores.
To grow a crystal from copper sulfate at home you will need:
Instructions on how to grow a crystal from copper sulfate at home
Attention! When working with copper sulfate, it is better to wear gloves!
- At the initial stage, we prepare a supersaturated solution. Pour about 300 ml of water into a jar or glass. We begin to add copper sulfate. Add a tablespoon and stir. The vitriol will dissolve very quickly. Add another spoon and stir again. We do this until the salt begins to settle at the bottom. The solution turned out to be oversaturated. Place the jar in a pan of water and put the pan on the fire. It is necessary to achieve complete dissolution of vitriol in water.
- While the solution cools, prepare the “seed”. The seed can be a large crystal of copper sulfate or a bead or button. We fix the seed on the thread.
- The seed on the thread can be placed inside the jar with the solution. In this case, the seed should not touch the walls of the vessel or its bottom. Therefore, we tie a thread to a stick or pencil in the middle. Place a pencil across the neck of the jar.
- We leave the structure alone and wait until crystals begin to form. Copper sulfate crystals grow somewhat faster than salt or sugar crystals. When the crystal reaches the desired size, remove it from the solution and cut the thread.
- In order to give the crystal an even more attractive look, we will cover it with colorless nail polish.
Things to remember:
The more saturated the solution, the faster the crystallization will occur. After a day or two, you can carefully remove the crystal from the solution, and replace the solution itself with a new, more saturated one.
Keep the crystal away from small children. After all, copper sulfate crystals are so beautiful that children will definitely want to taste them.
Growing Crystals
Growing crystals. What you need to know!
Growing Crystals— the process is very interesting, but it can be quite lengthy. It is useful to know what processes control its growth; why different substances form crystals of different shapes, and some do not form them at all; what needs to be done to make them big and beautiful.
If crystallization proceeds very slowly, you get one large crystal (or a single crystal, for example, when growing artificial stones), if quickly, you get many small ones (or a polycrystal, for example, metals).
Growing crystals at home produced in different ways. For example, cooling a saturated solution. As the temperature drops solubility of substances decreases (mainly in the case of anhydrous salt) and they are said to precipitate. First, tiny crystal nuclei appear in the solution and on the walls of the vessel. When cooling is slow and there are no solid impurities in the solution (say, dust), few nuclei are formed, and they gradually turn into beautiful crystals of regular shape. With rapid cooling, many small crystals appear, almost none of them have the correct shape, because there are many of them growing and they interfere with each other.
Sugar crystal
Growing Crystals can be done in another way - by gradually removing water from a saturated solution. And in this case, the slower the water is removed, the better the result. Leave the vessel with the solution open at room temperature for a long time, covering it with a sheet of paper - the water will evaporate slowly and dust will not get into the solution. The growing crystal can either be suspended in a saturated solution on a thin strong thread, or placed at the bottom of the vessel. In the latter case, the crystal must be periodically turned to the other side. As the water evaporates, fresh solution should be added to the vessel. Even if our initial crystal had an irregular shape, sooner or later it will correct all its defects and take on the shape characteristic of the substance, for example, it will turn into an octahedron if you use chromium-potassium alum salt, or a rhombus if you use copper sulfate.
Crystals
potassium-aluminum alum
Growing Crystals- the process is entertaining, but requires a careful and careful attitude to your work. Theoretically, the size of the crystal that can be grown at home in this way is unlimited. There are known cases when enthusiasts received crystals of such size that they could only be lifted with the help of their comrades.
But, there are some features of their storage (of course, each salt and substance has its own characteristics). For example, if a crystal of alum is left open in dry air, it will gradually lose the water it contains and turn into an inconspicuous gray powder. To protect it from destruction, you can coat it with colorless varnish. Copper sulfate and table salt are more stable and you can safely work with them.
How to grow a crystal
Potassium iodide crystal
(KI)
Grow a crystal can be made from different substances: for example, from sugar, even stone - artificial cultivation of stones, subject to strict rules on temperature, pressure, humidity and other factors (artificial rubies, amethysts, quartz, citrines, morions).
At home, of course, we won’t be able to do all this, so we’ll do it differently. We will grow salt crystals. We all have regular table salt at home (as you probably know, its chemical name is sodium chloride NaCl). Any other salt will also work (salt from a chemical point of view), for example, you can get beautiful blue crystals from copper sulfate or any other sulfate (for example, iron sulfate). You can use alum (double metal salts of sulfuric acid), sodium thiosulfate (formerly used for making photographs). All these salts (and salt in general) do not require any special conditions: they made a solution, dropped an “embryo” into it (all this is described in detail below) and it grows, increasing in height every day.
Yes, you should not color the solution where your crystal grows, for example with paints or something similar - this will only spoil the solution itself, but it will not color the crystal! The best way to get colored crystals is to choose the right color of salt! But be careful: for example, the crystals of yellow blood salt have a red-orange color - and the solution turns out yellow.
Now we can get started!
Growing table salt crystals
Table salt crystals
(NaCl)
Table salt crystals— the growing process does not require any special chemicals. We all have table salt (or table salt) that we take into our food. It can also be called stone - everything is the same. Table salt crystals NaCl They are colorless transparent cubes. Let's begin. Dilute the solution of table salt as follows: pour water into a container (for example a glass) and place it in a pan with warm water (no more than 50°C - 60°C). Of course, ideally, if the water does not contain dissolved salts (i.e., distilled), but in our case, you can use tap water. Pour table salt into a glass and leave for 5 minutes, stirring first. During this time, the glass of water will heat up and the salt will dissolve. It is advisable that the water temperature does not drop yet. Then add more salt and stir again. Repeat this step until the salt no longer dissolves and settles to the bottom of the glass. We have a saturated salt solution. Pour it into a clean container of the same volume, getting rid of excess salt at the bottom. Choose any larger crystal of table salt you like and place it at the bottom of a glass with a saturated solution. You can tie the crystal by a thread and hang it so that it does not touch the walls of the glass. Now we need to wait. After just a couple of days, you can notice significant growth for the crystal. Every day it will increase. And if you do the same thing again (prepare a saturated salt solution and drop this crystal into it), then it will grow much faster (remove the crystal and use the already prepared solution, adding water and the required portion of table salt to it). Remember that the solution must be saturated, that is, when preparing the solution, salt should always remain at the bottom of the glass (just in case). For information: approximately 35 g of table salt can dissolve in 100 g of water at a temperature of 20°C. With increasing temperature, the solubility of salt increases.
This is how table salt crystals are grown (or salt crystals, the shape and color of which you prefer)
Growing copper sulfate crystals
Copper sulfate crystals- are grown in the same way as with table salt: first, a saturated salt solution is prepared, then a small crystal of copper sulfate salt of your choice is dropped into this solution.
Attention! Copper sulfate is a chemically active salt! Therefore, for the experiment to be successful in this case, you need to take distilled water, i.e. containing no other salts dissolved in it. It is also better not to take tap water, since it firstly contains dissolved salts, and secondly it can be highly chlorinated. Impurities (especially hard carbonates) enter into chemical reactions with copper sulfate, causing the solution to deteriorate greatly
If everything is in order, we will continue. If you decide not to pour the solution from the container in which the small crystal originally grew, then hang the crystal so that it does not touch other crystals remaining at the bottom!
Crystals are grown not only from solutions, but also from molten salts. A striking example is yellow opaque sulfur crystals, shaped like a rhombus or elongated prisms. But I especially don’t recommend working with sulfur. The gas produced during its evaporation is harmful to health.
The growth of individual crystal faces can be avoided. To do this, these edges must be applied with a solution of Vaseline or fat.
Growing Copper Crystals
: 
Copper crystals (Cu)
Now let's grow red copper crystals. We need copper sulfate, table salt, a steel plate in the shape of the section of the container (slightly smaller perimeter. You can use steel filings or buttons), where copper crystals will grow, and a circle of blotting paper in the shape of the section. So, put a little copper sulfate at the bottom of the bottle (preferably evenly over the area). Sprinkle table salt on top and cover the whole thing with a cut out circle of paper. Place an iron plate on it (or fill it with steel filings). All this together must be poured with a saturated solution of table salt (we prepared such a solution from table salt). Leave the container for about a week. During this time, needle-shaped red copper crystals will grow. When the growth process is underway, try not to move the container, and it is also very undesirable to remove crystals from the solution.
You can grow a multi-colored and multi-layered crystal. They are obtained by preparing solutions of alum (double salts of sulfuric acid) and alternately transferring the grown crystal from one solution to another.
If you mix hot concentrated solutions of aluminum sulfates Al 2 (SO 4) 3 and potassium K 2 (SO 4), and cool the resulting solution, then alum - double potassium and aluminum sulfate 2KAl (SO 4) 2 12H 2 O - will begin to crystallize from it. Alum dissolves in water as follows: 5.9 g per 100 g of water at 20 ° C, but already 109 g at 90 ° C in terms of anhydrous salt. When stored in air, alum dissipates. At a temperature of 92.5 °C they melt in their water of crystallization, and when heated to 120 °C they dehydrate, turning into burnt alum, which decomposes only at temperatures above 700 °C. The water molecules that make up alum are chemically bonded to potassium and aluminum ions, so alum salts have a formula that is more correctly written as a complex salt (SO 4) 2.
Liquid crystals- These are substances that behave both as liquids and as solids. Molecules in liquid crystals, on the one hand, are quite mobile, on the other hand, they are arranged regularly, forming something like a crystalline structure (one-dimensional or two-dimensional). Often, even with slight heating, the correct arrangement of molecules is disrupted, and the liquid crystal becomes an ordinary liquid. On the contrary, at low enough temperatures they freeze, turning into solids. The regular arrangement of molecules in liquid crystals determines their special optical properties. Their properties can be controlled by exposing them to a magnetic or electric field. It is used in LCD displays on watches, calculators, computers and late-model televisions.
Stage 1: Dissolve the salt from which the crystal will grow in heated water (it is necessary to warm it up so that the salt dissolves a little more than it can dissolve at room temperature). Dissolve the salt until you are sure that the salt is no longer dissolved (the solution is saturated!). I recommend using distilled water (i.e., free of other salts)
Stage 2: Pour the saturated solution into another container where crystals can be grown (taking into account that it will increase). At this stage, make sure that the solution does not cool too much.
Stage 3: Tie a crystal of salt onto a thread, tie the thread, for example, to a match and place the match on the edges of the glass (container) where the saturated solution is poured (stage 3). Dip the crystal into a saturated solution.
Step 4: Transfer the container with the saturated solution and the crystal to a place where there are no drafts, vibrations and strong light (growing crystals requires compliance with these conditions).
Step 5: Cover the container with the crystal with something on top (for example, paper) to prevent dust and debris from entering. Leave the solution for a couple of days.
1. the crystal cannot be removed from the solution during growth without a special reason
2. Do not allow debris to get into the saturated solution, it is most preferable to use distilled water
3. monitor the level of the saturated solution, periodically (once a week or two) update the solution as it evaporates
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Growing crystals at home - photos and videos
Crystal grown at home
Everyone knows that it is possible to grow a crystal at home. If you want your child to develop, then you should choose a hobby for him that will help improve his intellectual development. We recommend that you focus on chemistry. This subject is quite complex, and therefore some children have difficulties with it, which often arise as a result of a misunderstanding of the topics. To make it easier for your child to learn the material, we advise you to invite him to try such an exciting hobby. How to grow crystals. This is a great way to instill in your child a love of chemistry and increase his knowledge of this subject. This is quite real.
Produce crystal at home
All you need is patience and attention. To begin this activity, you will need to purchase some materials. To begin with, you need to decide on the substance. Not many people know that a crystal can be grown from a large number of substances. For your experiment, you can choose the most common salt, which is found in every apartment. You can choose almost any connection.
It can be purchased at a special store. There is probably a chemical store in your city; if there is not, then similar compounds can be purchased at a garden store. You can find many types of fertilizers and herbicides there. You can also look into the pharmacy, they have a sufficient number of substances that may be suitable for your experience. As a last resort, you can make a purchase via the Internet.
Crystal on a thread
Growing a crystal at home correctly can only be done by following a few rules. Once you have decided on the material and purchased it, you can proceed to the next stage. To do this, you need to find a free place, that is, a place where you could conduct the experiment. We strongly recommend that you choose a place where temperature changes will not disturb you. For the purity of the experiment, it is necessary to decide on the location very quickly. A place near heating appliances is not suitable for you. A place with very high humidity is also not suitable. You must take into account the temperature, it must be room temperature and remain constant throughout the experiment.
In order to grow a crystal at home, you will need to be patient. Unfortunately, this process cannot be called fast. We will tell you a few examples about several completely different substances and teach you how to properly grow crystals from them.
Create a large crystal using salt
The easiest way is to learn to answer the question of how to grow a crystal from salt. This substance is very easy to use. First, buy all the necessary equipment, you will need 2 jars. They should have a volume of half a liter and make sure they are clean. It is very important. One jar should be filled almost completely with water and placed in a so-called water bath.
The second container is more like a saucepan, which is heated using a standard burner; our jar should be placed on it. Please note that the solution must be prepared in one jar, and you will need the second for directly growing the crystal. You must be very careful. When the liquid begins to gradually heat up, it’s time to start adding salt. Don't be alarmed here when you realize that salt includes so-called garbage. It will float to the surface and you will need to remove it. Do everything very carefully.
Crystal with salt and paint
How to grow a crystal from salt is not difficult to understand; it is more difficult to complete this task. After you get rid of the debris, you can begin to form an embryo. This is the so-called basis of any crystal. To create it you will need to pour your salt into a salt shaker and shake it until the small parts separate. We need those that are left in the salt shaker. These are the largest crystals. You need to choose the rectangular ones. Attach the embryo to the thread and wind the thread around a simple pencil. The thread is needed to regulate the immersion of the embryo. Then place it in the saline solution and cover it with a cloth. Cover the container with paper and wait.
Make a crystal using copper sulfate
Every day he will increase in height. Soon you will have a large crystal. That's the whole experiment. Good luck! In order to understand how to grow a crystal from vitriol, as in the photo from a scientific magazine, you should follow the following algorithm of actions. To do this, you should do the same thing as with salt, only now you need to take a solution of copper sulfate. To do this, combine a solution of copper sulfate with salt and get an embryo, and then everything should be done as with salt. The only thing special about this experience is that you will have to do a lot of transfusions.
Copper sulfate - crystal
This is a rather labor-intensive process. Please note that if you conduct the experiment in the fresh air, it may not succeed, since the crystals can be greatly eroded. Growing a sugar crystal can be a very interesting experience. This substance has its own characteristics. It is not difficult to grow a crystal from sugar; you can watch a visual video to quickly understand the essence of the issue. The technology for growing crystals from this substance is very similar to salt. In this case, you will also need two containers in which the process will take place. Just like in the previous experiment, you should prepare a solution.
Preparing a crystal with sugar particles
The sugar solution must be of high concentration; for this it is better to use hot water. You can, as in the case of salt, pick up a seed from among the crystals, or you can go the other way. You can take a cotton ball and slowly dip it into the sugar solution. It does not need to be held for long. Ten minutes is enough.
Then you need to let it dry thoroughly. When the cotton wool dries, you will notice crystals that will protrude on its surface. You can use one of them as an embryo. Growing a crystal from sugar is not difficult. You just have to follow all our recommendations. After this, you need to lower the cotton wool into the solution again. To do this, you need to tie one of the ends of the harness to a strong wire or to a pencil.
Preparing crystal with sugar
It's up to you. After which you must tie a small weight to the second end of the harness. This action is necessary to maintain the vertical position of the harness. Then cover the jar with paper and protect it from foreign bodies. All that remains is to wait. And after a certain time you will receive a large sugar crystal. These experiments are quite simple to carry out. This is a great way to discover something new.
onlineotvetchik.com
Growing crystals at home - the subtleties of the process
Growing crystals at home is a very exciting activity. In addition, experiments with growing crystals are simple, accessible, inexpensive and relatively safe, so anyone can do this interesting activity.
By growing crystals, you will not only immerse yourself in the interesting process of creating beautiful things, but you will also be able to hone your skills in laboratory work, handling substances, organizing a work plan, etc.
What are crystals grown from?
It may seem to some that in order to grow a crystal, hard-to-find and expensive reagents will be required, but everything is much simpler - substances that are suitable for our purposes are easily available in everyday life. These include:
- salt;
- sugar;
- copper sulfate;
- alum;
- and some other, less accessible reagents.
- You cannot use food utensils during the experiment, since their subsequent use during meals can provoke poisoning of the body;
- You cannot eat food at the same time as conducting experiments, which can also cause poisoning;
- You cannot use unknown reagents for experiments;
- All chemicals must be stored in sealed containers in a dry, safe place away from small children and animals. You need to make an inscription on it that will inform you about the contents;
- During experiments, you need to use gloves and protective clothing;
- experiments accompanied by even the slightest release of harmful compounds must be carried out in laboratory fume hoods;
- If the solution gets on your skin, immediately rinse the area with clean running water. If acid gets on your skin, you need to treat your body with a weak alkali solution. Well, and vice versa: when alkali gets on the skin, the affected area is treated with a weakly acidic solution. If the solution gets on your mucous membranes or in your eyes, you should immediately go to the hospital, and before that, rinse them with water.
- water - two glasses;
- sugar - five glasses;
- wooden skewers or sticks for mini-kebabs;
- thin paper;
- pot;
- transparent cups;
- food coloring if you want to grow a multi-colored crystal.
- drinking water
- small saucepan
- transparent glass container (the best option is a jar)
- pack of table salt
- silk thread.
- glass or plastic container of any size, but preferably transparent and colorless, so that you can easily observe the growth of crystals in it. The plastic version is convenient because crystals do not grow to it. If the jar is larger, this will allow the crystal to grow much larger. But it is also important to take into account that the larger the jar, the larger the amount of solution will have to be prepared and the larger portion of the reagent will be required;
- copper sulfate or copper sulfate, which can be bought not only at a chemical store, but also at a gardening store. Although it will not be clean enough, this is not so important. Before you buy salt, you need to consider the substance. To do this, the package contains a small strip of transparent polyethylene, through which the bright blue powder should be visible. If there are large lumps, especially green ones, it is better to refuse the purchase, because such vitriol was probably stored at high humidity and is oversaturated with a huge amount of impurities. You will have to suffer with it when growing crystals, and therefore it is better to contact another similar store.
- 2 glasses of water;
- 5 glasses of granulated sugar;
- wooden skewers;
- paper;
- small saucepan;
- several transparent glasses.
- pure water;
- pot;
- 2 glass jars;
- salt;
- strong thread.
- water, preferably distilled;
- glass jar;
- copper salt (copper sulfate or copper sulfate, which can be purchased at a gardening store).
What do you need to know?
Growing crystals at home is an interesting, albeit rather lengthy process. It is useful to know the processes on which crystal growth depends, why crystals of different substances have different shapes, why not all substances form them, what needs to be done to make them large and beautiful.
If crystallization is carried out slowly, then as a result one large single crystal can be grown; with faster crystallization, many small crystals are obtained.
There are different ways to grow crystals. The first is cooling the saturated solution. As the temperature decreases, solubility decreases and the substance precipitates. First, small crystalline nuclei appear on the walls of the vessel. Further, depending on the rate of cooling and the presence of impurities in the solution, either beautiful regular crystals or many small crystals of irregular shape are formed.
Another method is to gradually remove water from the saturated solution. The slower the process, the better the result. It is enough to leave the vessel with the solution open for a long time at room temperature, covering it with a sheet of paper. In this case, the water will slowly evaporate, and dust will not get into the solution. The crystal can be hung on a strong thin thread in a saturated solution, or placed on the bottom of a vessel - then it will have to be periodically turned to the other side. Fresh solution is added to the vessel as the water evaporates. Even if the original crystal was of irregular shape, it gradually corrects its defects and acquires the correct shape inherent in a particular substance - for example, in the shape of an octahedron or rhombus.
The main thing is a careful and careful attitude to work. Theoretically, a crystal of unlimited size can be grown in this way, and there have been cases when the formations obtained by enthusiasts could only be raised by a few people.
There are other nuances, for example, related to storage - these are mostly features of the substance itself. For example, if you leave a crystal of alum open in dry air, it will gradually lose the water it contains and turn into a handful of gray, inconspicuous powder. To prevent this from happening, the crystals are coated with varnish.
Growing
In general, growing a crystal is quite simple. Any suitable salt is taken: for example, beautiful blue crystals are obtained from copper sulfate (any sulfate, for example, iron sulfate, is suitable); Regular table salt, alum, and sodium thiosulfate are also suitable. All these substances do not require any special conditions. A solution is prepared, the embryo is dropped into it, and then it grows on its own, gradually increasing its mass. We will consider all this below.
Do not attempt to color the solution in which you are growing the crystal with paints or anything similar. This will only spoil the solution, and it will not be possible to grow a colored crystal this way. The best way to obtain colored crystals is to use a salt with a suitable color, such as yellow blood salt, to form red-orange ones.
Growing table salt crystals
The process does not require any special reagents. The solution is prepared as follows: water is poured into the container, and the container is placed in a saucepan with warm water (not hotter than 60 degrees). Pour salt into the container and leave for five minutes, stirring first. The container will heat up, and then the salt will dissolve (make sure that the water temperature does not drop). Add more salt and stir again until the salt stops dissolving and begins to settle to the bottom. The saturated solution is ready - pour it into a clean container of the same volume, removing excess salt at the bottom.
Now take any more or less large crystal of table salt, tie it to a thread and hang it so that it does not touch the walls of the container, or simply place it on the bottom. Now all you have to do is wait - in just a couple of days you can notice a significant increase in the crystal, and it will grow every day. To grow the crystal faster, add salt to the solution so that it is always saturated. About 35 grams of table salt dissolves in one hundred grams of water at 20 degrees.
Making copper sulfate crystals
Such crystals can be grown in a similar way - a saturated solution is prepared and a small crystal of copper sulfate is dropped into it.
Remember that copper sulfate is an active substance and it will be better to use distilled water. The one from the tap may contain compounds that will react with copper sulfate and spoil the solution.
If the water is clean, we continue. Everything happens in the same way: we pour the saturated solution into another container, hang it so that it is completely covered with the solution and does not touch the walls of the vessel, then all we have to do is wait.
Crystals can be grown both from solutions and from melts of substances - for example, beautiful prismatic or diamond-shaped bright yellow sulfur crystals can be grown from molten sulfur.
However, working with melts is an order of magnitude more dangerous, because in the case of sulfur it can ignite, releasing large amounts of poisonous, caustic sulfur dioxide gas.
To stop the growth of an individual face, it is enough to apply a layer of fat or Vaseline to the face.
Video lessons
Research work “Growing crystals at home”
Hurry up to take advantage of discounts of up to 70% on Infourok courses
Municipal budgetary educational institution
secondary school No. 2
student of class 3B
Odnoletko Natalya Vladimirovna
Chapter 1. What is a crystal? .……………………………………………………..4 pp.
Chapter 2.Growing crystals at home………..……………5 pages.
2.2 Growing crystals from table salt…………………………….5 p.
2.3 Growing crystals from copper sulfate…………………………. 5 pages
“Almost the entire world is crystalline.
The world is ruled by crystal and its
firm, straightforward laws."
In lessons about the surrounding world and on hiking trips around our republic, we learned that crystals are often found in nature. For example, snowflakes, frosty patterns on window glass and frost that decorates bare tree branches in winter. All stones are crystals! And not only bright and shiny precious stones (diamonds, rubies, sapphires), but also ordinary ones that make up mountains, rocks, gorges and caves. Now we know that even some parts of the body are crystalline, for example, the cornea of the eye. Currently, the science of CRYSTALLOGRAPHY is studying the diversity of crystals. There are even crystals you can eat! These are salt and sugar, which are available in every kitchen. Crystals are widely used in science, industry, optics, and electronics.
My family and I live in a private house. We have a vegetable garden where we grow vegetables, fruits and flowers. One day my mother treated the plants with a strange blue liquid, and I decided to find out why she was doing this? Mom said that this is a solution of copper sulfate and it is needed to protect fruits and vegetables from various diseases. I wanted to know more about this substance. Having studied the literature, we learned that copper sulfate is a blue salt (salt from a chemical point of view), not poisonous to humans (unless eaten) and it is used not only in gardening, but also in medicine, construction and even in the food industry! But the most interesting thing for me was that every single particle of this salt is a crystal! It turns out that you can grow crystals yourself! We were very interested in this topic, and we decided to grow a crystal from copper sulfate salt and from ordinary table salt. After all, it should turn out very beautiful! But my parents and I didn’t know how to do this, what precautions needed to be taken. Therefore, we decided to study this process.
This is how the research topic was chosen: “Growing crystals of table salt and copper sulfate at home.”
Relevance research is that growing crystals is a fascinating activity, the simplest, most accessible and inexpensive for most young discoverers. It is explained by the interest in the formation of crystals of different shapes and colors at any time of the year.
Goal of the work: learn how to grow crystals of table salt and copper sulfate at home
find out what crystals are.
study the process of growing crystals.
Familiarize yourself with safety measures when working with copper sulfate.
grow a crystal from salt and copper sulfate.
analyze the results obtained.
Object of study - crystals.
Subject of study- crystallization process.
Research hypothesis: we assume that crystals of table salt and copper sulfate can be grown at home
accumulation of theoretical material.
carrying out experimental activities in order to obtain crystals from copper sulfate.
analysis of the research results.
Copper sulfate salt (available at a gardening store) Table salt (available at a grocery store)
The container where we will grow our crystal
Chapter 1. What is a crystal?
Crystals, translated from Greek, (krystallos) mean “ice”. According to the encyclopedia, a crystal is a solid. Crystals grow by attaching particles of substance from liquid or vapor. Crystals can be of natural origin or artificial, grown in specially created conditions. And every person, if desired, can easily grow crystals at home.
After analyzing the textual material, we determined research methods and carried out experimental work on growing crystals at home.
Chapter 2. Growing crystals at home.
2.1 Safety precautions
When growing a crystal from salt and copper sulfate, you must always remember that this is a chemical reagent, so children can only work with it under the supervision of their parents. Although salt and copper sulfate are not poisonous, it is necessary to follow safety precautions:
1.Do not taste
2. Avoid contact of the substance with the nose and eyes.
3.Eating from the dishes that were used during the experiment is strictly prohibited.
4. While the crystal is growing, do not touch it with your hands, because fingerprints will remain on it, and the crystal will grow in an irregular shape.
5.Always wash your hands after completing experiments.
2.2 Growing crystals from table salt
Growing crystals is a very, very interesting activity. But in order for the result to turn out really beautiful, you need to carefully perform all the steps and be patient.
Experiment 1. (Fig. 1,2,3,4,5) Dissolve salt in water until it dissolves and begins to settle to the bottom of the jar. We have a saturated salt solution. Pour it into a clean container and strain. We choose any larger crystal of table salt that we like, tie it by a thread and hang it so that it does not touch the walls of the glass. After just a couple of days, you can notice significant growth for the crystal. Every day it will increase. (Fig. 6,7)
Result: we received a crystal of table salt.
2.3 Growing crystals from copper sulfate.
Experiment 2. (Fig. 8,9) Take a jar of water, add copper sulfate, mix thoroughly until it dissolves. It is best to gradually heat a container of water to dissolve the chemical more quickly. In the process, the water will begin to change color - from light blue to dark blue. Place in a dark place for 1 day. Small crystals have formed at the bottom of the jar. You need to choose the largest one - this is the “seed”. After this, we lower the “seed” into a glass jar on an ordinary thread tied to a pencil. And after a couple of days we see that many small blue crystals have grown on the “seed”. (Fig.10,11,12,13)
Result: we received a crystal of copper sulfate.
In order to make our crystal even more beautiful, you can cover it with colorless nail polish.
The small shaped crystals grown can be used as decoration, such as photo frames or other items.
Conclusion.
While doing this work, we found out that the world of crystals is beautiful and diverse. Each of its representatives is unique in its properties, size and structural features. In addition to being beautiful, crystals play an important role in human life.
In the course of our work, we investigated a very interesting property of crystals - their growth in an artificial environment. It turns out that crystals can be grown at home, without any effort.
As a result of the research, the hypothesis is fully confirmed: we were able to grow copper sulfate crystals at home.
Practical significance of the study is that it can be used in lessons about the outside world, in extracurricular activities
I really enjoyed the research work. During its implementation, I became acquainted with methods of growing crystals. I learned a lot of interesting and educational things. But the most important thing is that I grew salt and copper sulfate crystals myself at home.
Bibliography.
M.P. Shaskolinskaya. Crystals: Moscow. - The science. Physics and mathematics literature, 1995.
Universal school encyclopedia for children "Avanta +". 2004
"Want to know everything. Entertaining chemistry." I.A.Leenson.1 996.
Encyclopedic dictionary of a young chemist. – M.: Pedagogy, 1990
How to grow a crystal
Man strives to be on par with nature in everything. Today he can do a lot. Surrogacy, nanotechnology, to say nothing of artificially recreating the structure of minerals. And not in some super-powerful laboratory, but at home, one might say, on the kitchen table. Yes, yes, today anyone can find out how to grow a crystal, and even easily cope with it.
How to grow a crystal
When we hear this word, each of us imagines transparent, large, colorless or bright polyhedra with shiny ideal edges. They owe their exceptional qualities to their structure: crystals and amorphous bodies are distinguished by the existence of a strict crystalline lattice in the internal structure of the former. If we imagine that a person has shrunk a million times and found himself inside a glass cube, then around him he would see chaotic piles of various molecules. But if you look inside even the smallest crystal, you can see a completely different picture: rigidly ordered rows of molecules, ions or atoms stretch endlessly on different sides, which obey the laws of strict symmetry that rule in the world of regular crystals.
To understand how common substances with a crystalline structure are in the surrounding nature, you just need to remember that most rocks consist of crystals. But the entire crust of the Earth is built from rocks.
Growing crystals is a very exciting activity, and if you do it with children, it is also educational.
And although we can match nature in creating crystals at home, first, perhaps, it would be worth familiarizing ourselves with the rules for growing a crystal from a solution.
Before studying how to grow a crystal at home, it is important to remember the basic safety rules when experimenting with toxic salts:
How to grow a crystal from sugar
After such instructions, you can begin to grow crystalline substances using even the most aggressive components. But it’s best to start with absolutely accessible, safe and even pleasant ingredients. Most popular experience - how to grow a crystal from sugar.
Children love sugar skewers.
Such crystals are often included with expensive types of tea and look very tasty and beautiful. So much so that you don’t even want to stir tea with them - it’s a shame! In addition, this stick alone costs about 160 rubles: you must agree, it’s very expensive. But you can grow them yourself much cheaper. So, for one sugar crystal on a stick you will need:
When you have prepared the sweet solution, start preparing the “skewers”. Tie two twigs together. The first one will serve as a “fishing rod”, and the second one will serve as a fastening.
Place the twigs (or toothpicks) into the syrup and wait.
For that,. It takes a week for a sugar crystal to grow.
After the seven-day period has passed, enjoy your sweet treat.
It all starts with taking a quarter glass of drinking water and a couple of tablespoons of granulated sugar. The sugar is heated over the fire until it dissolves and produces syrup. Then a little sugar is scattered on a piece of paper, the stick is dipped in syrup and rolled in sugar. You need to make sure that its cubes stick evenly on all sides of the stick, which will make the crystal even. Then several similar sticks are prepared, which are left until they are completely dry, so that the sugar does not crumble when it gets into the hot syrup. After all, if this happens, then subsequently the crystal will have nothing to cling to and it will not be able to grow. Therefore, it is better to prepare the sticks ahead of time, for example in the evening, and leave them to dry overnight. Then take a saucepan, pour water into it - two glasses, and pour in sugar - two and a half glasses.
You can use clothespins as fastenings.
The syrup is placed on low heat and, with constant stirring, all the sugar dissolves. The remaining sugar - two and a half glasses - is poured into the resulting syrup and boiled until it is completely dissolved. After turning off the heat, leave the syrup on the stove for another 20 minutes. While it cools, the sticks are prepared. Take pieces of paper and pierce them with a skewer. There is no need to make the hole very wide, because the point is for this piece of paper to sit tightly on the skewer.
Then the hot syrup is poured into glasses. It is necessary that the hot syrup is poured, otherwise the crystals will not grow. If you want to know a way, how to grow a crystal at home, and even colored, then everything is simple: a little food coloring is added to the syrup. The workpiece is lowered into the glass, but so that the sugar does not touch its walls and bottom. And the paper in this case is both a holder for the stick and a lid for the cup, which protects the syrup from dust. The same procedure is done with all the remaining blanks: they are placed in glasses and left to grow for approximately 7 days.
Children will watch this process with interest, as the crystal will grow larger every day. But you need to be prepared for the fact that they will all grow in different ways: some quickly, while others will need a much longer period of time. But when after a week there are no changes, you will have to repeat everything all over again. Most often, beautiful crystals grow in just a week. Several unready ones can be left to ripen for the same time. Well, have a delicious tea party! True, such a sugar crystal can simply be dissolved like a lollipop.
How to grow a salt crystal
One of the simplest ways how to grow a salt crystal at home, will require its performers not only to be clever with the solution, but also to stock up on remarkable patience. So:
To work you will need:
Water is poured into the pan and put on fire, but not brought to a boil: the solution should be hot, but not boiling water. After heating the pan with water, salt is poured into it in small portions, and the solution must be stirred constantly. A new portion of salt is added when the previous one has already completely dissolved. The concentration of the solution should be such that grains of salt cease to dissolve in it. For the role of breakfast, the largest of the crystals from the already completely settled brine solution is selected.
Now the concentrate can be considered ready. It should be poured into a glass jar and allowed to sit for about a day. This must be done so that small undissolved particles of salt fall to the bottom. On the second day you can see many small crystals in the jar. You need to choose the largest of them and take it out, and then tie the crystal to a thread or attach it to a wire. This will create a seed, the presence of which is important before how to grow table salt crystal. Then the solution must be poured into an empty container, but so that small crystals do not get in. When this is not done, particles of salt crystals will begin to take the substance from the solution to grow.
Then the seed is lowered into a solution poured separately, and you should be patient. But while the crystal is forming, there are some important tips you can learn about growing it. With rapid cooling of the saline solution, the crystal grows in a minimum time, but its shape will be geometrically irregular, but crystals grown with a gradual decrease in temperature will take longer, but will amaze with their perfect beauty. You should also not shake the jar with the growing crystal, just as you should not take it out until the process, in your opinion, is completely completed.
Boil water and immediately pour into a jar.
Add 2-3 tablespoons of salt to the mixture and stir with a spoon until even the fine particles are dissolved.
Add the rest of the salt and mix thoroughly.
Now you have a saturated solution ready.
Shake the jar well.
Tie a string around a pencil or stick.
Trim the excess length so that the lace does not touch the bottom of the jar.
Place the end of the rope into the jar.
Leave the jar in a warm, sunny place for 1-3 weeks. Check the lace regularly; it will gradually become covered with white crystals.
Instead of a rope, you can use an iron ring, then the crystals will grow in a circle.
These pictures clearly show how crystals grow.
This is how the thread with crystals will change over time. On average, it will take 2-3 weeks to grow a crystal.
Very beautiful crystals grow not from ordinary salt, but from alum. Alum is a double salt and can be bought at any pharmacy, as it is a medicinal product that is used as a hemostatic and cauterizing agent. They are cheap - about 12 rubles. Now we will demonstrate a master class on growing crystals from alum. They turn out to be very regular and beautiful in shape and grow faster than salt crystals.
As you can see, this crystal is of the correct shape compared to a regular salt crystal.
Aluminum sulfate costs from 8 rubles and is sold at the pharmacy. It is often used as a styptic, for example when you cut yourself while shaving.
For the experiment, it is better to use two glasses so that you have a choice of good crystals. Bring half a liter of water to a boil and dissolve six tablespoons of alum in it. Leave the cups for a week.
This is how alum crystals grow within a week.
There is too much small alum in the second glass, which is why we immediately decided to grow crystals in two glasses, and not in one.
Select crystals of the correct shape and large size and place them on a paper towel.
This is how we grew one large irregularly shaped crystal. If you don't want to grow such an awkward crystal, cut off a large part of it.
A separated part of a crystal. We will continue to grow it.
Tie the crystal to the thread.
It is very convenient to use an ice cream stick; it will not slip or fall, unlike a wooden pencil.
Place the crystal in alum solution, it is prepared in the same way, only the ingredients can be halved (a glass of water, 3 tablespoons of alum)
After a week, our crystal grew significantly.
The crystal has the shape of an octahedron. Remember, a crystal does not change shape as it grows, whatever shape you choose for the seed crystal is how it will continue to grow.
The structure of salt crystals is cubic, so all crystals are shaped like cubes, unlike alum crystals, which can have a variety of shapes.
The photo shows how salt crystals gradually grow.
Depending on the saturation of the solution, crystals can grow more intensely or more slowly.
This crystal is about 2 weeks old.
And this crystal grew for at least 3 weeks.
If you want to conduct an interesting experiment with your child, choose bright materials and a rich solution, so the crystal will be more visible and interesting to the baby.
This kind of crystal can be grown on a cord or fluffy Christmas tree tinsel.
Make a solution and place a string in it.
After a week, natural processes will do their job and transparent “icicles” will appear on the string.
The salt grows in regular cubes or parallelepipeds.
How to grow a crystal of copper sulfate
For the most avid alchemists, salt and sugar are not enough. In addition, they are interested in, for example, how to grow copper sulfate crystal. But the technique given below is suitable for growing absolutely all types of crystals.
To grow a sufficiently large crystal from an aqueous solution of copper sulfate, you will need:
Growing crystals from copper sulfate is perhaps the most popular. They are beautiful in shape and grow quite quickly.
Copper sulfate is used in gardening and agriculture as a means to combat fungus and mold. Copper sulfate is quite toxic, so in experiments it is recommended to use disposable or non-food-grade containers and wash your hands thoroughly.
For the experiment we need 100 grams. copper sulfate per 100 ml of water. Stock up on 300 ml of water and 300 g. vitriol accordingly.
Place the jar in a water bath and pour hot water into it, dissolve 100 grams in water. vitriol.
Pour after 10 minutes. vitriol from the first jar to the second. After a while, check the bottom of the jar, seed crystals should form there.
Try to choose crystals of the correct shape, 1-2 mm long. Dry them on a paper towel, try not to touch them with your hands, use tweezers.
Prepare 200-300 ml of solution and, tying the seed crystal with a thread, place it in the solution.
Having prepared in this way, nothing remains, how to grow a crystal from vitriol. So, take a container and pour copper sulfate into it. You don’t need to pour a lot, 100 grams will do for a start. Salt is poured with hot water (preferably, of course, distilled, but not necessary). Then you can use two ways. First, a seed is taken, that is, a small crystal. The more there are, the more crystals will come out. A little water is poured, and the solution is constantly stirred. It should become so saturated that the grains of salt at the bottom cannot dissolve. The solution is filtered while still hot and placed in a cool place, but not covered with a lid. On the second day, the bottom of the container is covered with a bunch of small crystals. You need to select a couple of them that are the smoothest and largest. You can choose according to your taste - those that you liked the most. The solution for crystals can be prepared in the same way, but add a little more water, cool, and then filter thoroughly.
Copper sulfate is a poisonous compound, however, it can be purchased at any garden store.
There are two ways to obtain crystals from vitriol: cooling and evaporation, but most experimenters still prefer evaporation.
It takes 4-6 hours to grow a copper crystal.
It should be noted that after a few hours the crystal will lose its shine as the water evaporates from it. To prevent this, coat the crystal with varnish. This way, it will not only remain shiny for a long time, but will also become non-toxic and can be handled without fear.
These wonderful crystals are the mineral chalcanthite. It is formed from copper sulfate naturally in nature.
When the solution and seed are ready, you need to rinse the seed under running water, but you don’t need to touch it with your hands, since copper sulfate is still a chemical substance, and fingerprints may remain on the seed, causing the crystal to begin to take on an irregular shape. Then the seed is carefully placed in a container with a filtered and cooled solution. It can be placed on the bottom, as a result of which the crystal will grow only in width and length. The best option would be to hang the seed on a fishing line: when using a thread, many small crystals can grow on it, but this will not happen on a fishing line. The second end of the fishing line is tied to a pencil or other similar long object, and then the crystal is placed in the solution. The length of the fishing line must be adjusted so that the seed hangs on it in the middle of the solution itself. So the crystal should grow evenly in all directions. The container is placed in a place with a constant temperature and covered with a sheet of paper. And not cardboard, under which even small crystals will grow for several months, but under thin paper only for several weeks. Once a week, the solution should be filtered to remove precipitated crystals. This will produce beautiful bluish-blue crystals with parallelogram-shaped edges. When their size is suitable for you, they need to be taken out, rinsed in running cold water, wiped with a napkin and opened with several layers of colorless varnish, and nail polish will do. Such a crystal can be easily picked up and moistened with water, which will not harm it in any way, because the varnish will completely protect the fragile substance. But this should not make you handle them less carefully, so as not to accidentally destroy their beauty. Do you also want to become a magician and try to grow such a wonderful crystal with your own hands? Then don’t waste time, because you will need it to create an ordinary miracle!
This is what the growth of a copper sulfate crystal looks like. The first day.
And so the crystal grew within a week. Eighth day.
The longer a crystal grows, the larger it becomes.
In eight days, the crystal manages to grow 2 cm.
A deep blue color is a sign of a good crystal.
This is what the crystal looks like on the 11th day of growth.
Change the solution often, and do not forget to filter it.
In copper sulfate, crystals grow in different shapes, but most often they are tracklin.
If you choose the evaporation process, then get ready that the crystal will grow for a long time - at least 14 days; during the cooling process it grows faster - only 24 hours, but it can be irregular and even unpredictable in shape.
When conducting the experiment, do not use iron objects, as the vitriol reacts with iron.
This crystal is already 22 days old.
You can even grow crystals for a month.
Growing a crystal is a painstaking task, but the result is worth it.
Conduct experiments with children, but be careful with copper sulfate, it is toxic.
This crystal is 42 days old.
A month and a half is not a long time, you can continue to grow until you get tired of it.
This crystal is 52 days old.
After the crystal has grown, it must be varnished, otherwise it will lose its shine. In 52 days our crystal grew 10 cm!
This video explains how to grow a crystal from ordinary salt.
This video explains how to grow a crystal from copper sulfate.
Growing crystals at home is a very long, labor-intensive and painstaking process, but it is very exciting and definitely worth the time spent. Children really enjoy this experience, and most of the methods below are completely safe. So, let's look at the main ways to grow crystals at home.
How to grow a crystal from sugar at home
It is best to start your experiments in 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:
The crystal making process begins with making sugar syrup. To do this, take 1/4 cup of water and two tablespoons of sugar. Mix and heat 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 perfect and beautiful the crystal will be. In a similar way, we make the required number of blanks and leave them until completely dry, for example, overnight.
Some time has passed, our skewers have dried and now we can move on to the next part of the experiment. Pour 2 cups of water into a saucepan and add 2.5 cups of sugar. Over low heat, stirring constantly, turn our mixture into sugar syrup. Stirring must be carried out thoroughly until the sugar is completely dissolved! Add the remaining 2.5 cups of sugar and also cook the syrup until completely dissolved. After this, leave the syrup to cool slightly, this will take approximately 15-20 minutes. During this time, we continue preparing blanks from skewers, the basis for our future crystal. We cut paper mugs slightly larger than the diameter of our glasses and pierce the resulting mugs with chopsticks. The main thing is that the paper is tightly fixed on the skewer. The paper will serve as a holder and lid for the glass.
Pour the cooled but still hot syrup into glasses. At this stage, you can add a little food coloring to the syrup, then the crystal will eventually turn out colored. We lower our preparation (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 approximately a week to grow the crystal. This is a very interesting and exciting process that children really like. Every day the crystal grows larger and takes on its own individual shape. Some crystals grow faster, some slower, but the bulk matures in just 7 days. The resulting crystal from sugar is very good to use with the whole family at a home tea party, or just nibble on it in moments of blues! That's it, 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:
We heat the water in a saucepan, heat it very strongly, and do not bring it to a boil; the experiment will not work in boiling water. After heating the water, gradually begin to pour salt into it, stirring constantly until the portion of salt is completely dissolved. After this, add more salt and stir until dissolved. And so on until the salt stops dissolving. Pour the resulting saturated saline solution into a jar and let it sit thoroughly for 24 hours. The next day we will see many small crystals of settled salt in the jar. We choose the most beautiful and largest of them, carefully take them out and tie them on a thread. Carefully pour the solution into an empty jar, making sure that the settled crystals do not fall into the new vessel. Then we lower the crystal on a string into a filtered saline solution and be patient. 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, just as we did above, and lower our crystal there. By the way, if you frequently change the salt solution, the crystal will grow faster.
It is very important not to deliberately cool the solution or shake it, as this will result in imperfectly shaped crystals. Also, you should 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 sulfate at home is the next level of complexity, which requires compliance with safety requirements and can only be done by children under adult supervision.
To conduct the experiment we will need:
Before purchasing, be sure to examine the substance; it should be a bright blue, homogeneous powder. If there are lumps and green inclusions, it is better to refuse the purchase. It will be useful for summer residents on the farm, but not for us, novice chemists.
So, the correct vitriol has been purchased. Pour about 100 grams of powder into a glass jar and add a little hot water, stirring constantly. We must obtain a saturated solution in which the copper salt can no longer dissolve. Filter the solution and put it in the refrigerator. The next day we will find many crystals at the bottom. We select a couple of the largest and most beautiful ones and place them in a container with a filtered solution. Before this, we treat the crystals in the same way as in the previous experiment with table salt, namely, we fasten them on a thread and lower them into a jar. Cover the vessel with thin paper and be patient. 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 covered with colorless nail polish.
