How to grow a crystal from salt, a master class. Large crystal of salt at home, step-by-step photos, video
If you like experiments or want toyour child to spend time interestingly and profitably, we offer an interesting idea, on growing crystals at home. For an organic entry into the world of entertaining science, we have chosen a very interesting and safe topic. In this article you will find step by step instructions how to grow a crystal from salt, with step-by-step photos and videos.
Necessary materials:
Food salt (cookery);
Two glass containers of the same size;
A pan with a bottom area, containing working containers;
Gloves;
Napkin.
On a note: young and experimentalists at the age should not try to grow "colored crystals of salt" with food and decoration colors like gouache or watercolors. Solution for growing crystals should be as clean as possible. That is why the optimal liquid for such an experiment is distilled water, so it is free of various salts and impurities.
How to grow a crystal at home - step by step instructions
So, we will deal with saturated brine, all manipulations should be done with gloves in order to avoid a possible allergic reaction or irritation.
In the glass container, to collect a small amount of water, it is better distilled, but in the absence of such, ordinary tap water will do likewise.
In the pan, draw water, the temperature of which should be about 50 - 60 degrees C °.
Add the edible salt to the glass container, stir it.
The water temperature in the pan and the tanks will equal, the salt will dissolve.
Maintain water temperatures. Keep the container on a steam bath, add salt until the sediment dissolves. Cool the solution.
Filter the resulting saturated brine with a cloth into a different container.
Note! For the purity of the experiment, take another (control) vessel in which the working solution will not be filtered. At the bottom leave a salt sediment.
In the package with salt, choose a larger crystal, the so-called seed.
Place on the bottom of the tank.
Close the container with a cloth so that the dust does not settle in the solution.
Leave the container in a place where the temperature is stable.
Important: when storing the resulting crystals, it should be taken into account that moisture evaporates in the air and crystals are destroyed. To fix the results of the surface must be treated with varnish. According to the results of observations, the next day the changes in the two vessels are striking. In the working vessel with the filtered solution, the seed crystal did not change in size. In the control vessel, precipitation of salt flakes and crystallization of the salt precipitate occurred.
Our crystal of salt is ready!
Please note: in order to speed up the process, the working solution needs to be changed periodically. That is, again, prepare a saturated brine solution and place growing crystals there.
If you work with crystals for a long timethere is a need to grow certain forms. For this, there are also special techniques and rules. Correct the growth can be, removing ugly growths with a knife, scraping off excess. The formation of faces can be prevented by treating the crystal plane with petroleum jelly. If necessary, further growth, remove Vaseline with acetone.
