- published: 27 Apr 2016
- views: 3358
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly, repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. In addition to their microscopic structure, large crystals are usually identifiable by their macroscopic geometrical shape, consisting of flat faces with specific, characteristic orientations.[citation needed]
The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is known as crystallography. The process of crystal formation via mechanisms of crystal growth is called crystallization or solidification. The word crystal is derived from the Ancient Greek word κρύσταλλος (krustallos), meaning both “ice” and “rock crystal”, from κρύος (kruos), "icy cold, frost".
Common crystals include snowflakes, diamonds, and table salt; however, most common inorganic solids are polycrystals. Crystals are often symmetrically intergrown to form crystal twins.
Halite (table salt, NaCl): Microscopic and macroscopic
The scientific definition of a "crystal" is based on the microscopic arrangement of atoms inside it, called the crystal structure. A crystal is a solid where the atoms form a periodic arrangement. (Quasicrystals are an exception, see below.)
Avalanche looms overhead
Airplane flies overhead
Important man sits by the window
Sucked out of the first class window
Images run by, thousand miles an hour
But the time seems far away
Folding clothes in a folding closet
Folding money in a resume
Time to let off some pressure
Time to let off some steam
All your notebooks get thrown away
And you start your diary clean
Crystal glass lined up in a row
Watched over by the G.I. Joes
Sugar in your coffee doesn't taste quite right
Feeling the effects for a hundred thousand nights
When civilization falls in its grave
Technology throws on the dirt
You realize the finest things in life
Are the ones that can never be hurt
Shatters your brain in a million tiny pieces
The sounds you hear aren't coming out right
You think it might be mystic, you think I might be cryptic
The crystal in your china case is breaking in a million tiny pieces