MadSci Network: Chemistry |
I'd recommend going with salt crystals over sugar crystals, simply because sugar solutions often stay 'syrupy' in which case they don't form good crystals.
1) Boil some water - 1 - 2 cups..
2) Add 1 cup of salt to your water. Take the water off the heat and stir it, until as much of the salt goes into solution as possible.
3) Pour your saturated salt solution into a jar or other glass container. If there's still alot of undissolved salt, run it through a strainer or a paper towel to filter the salt grains. Over the top of your container, place a spoon or oblong obect. Tie some string to it so the string dangles in the solution.
4) Now you have two possible ways to make some crystals - one fast, one much slower..
Once you get crystals to form you can play with the amount of salt you add to the water, and perhaps try it with other compounds including sugar.
What's the advantage of one way over another? The first way is very fast, you can watch the crystals form right before your eyes. However, the second way (in my experience) tends to give nicer crystals, and you can watch as they develop and grow over many days.
Have fun!
Lynn Bry, MadSci Admin
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