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Post by glennz01 on Aug 12, 2014 2:02:03 GMT -5
Well i made these crystals a long time ago.. its a natural accruing rock called Chalcanthite which dissolves in water. I still have a whole bunch of the non crystal powder left (I took out the small growth crystals every day so i just got large ones) Look up copper sulfate if anyone is interested in making any. Too bad there is no way to make jewelry out of this.. well unless i had some resin  |
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Post by snowmom on Aug 12, 2014 6:34:52 GMT -5
interesting stuff. beautiful color...
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TByrd
fully equipped rock polisher
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Post by TByrd on Aug 12, 2014 6:35:48 GMT -5
Wire wrap?
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transcendental
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Post by transcendental on Aug 12, 2014 8:21:13 GMT -5
Would they re-disolve if they get wet? Beautiful color
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2014 9:13:50 GMT -5
Yes, chalcanthite is water soluble.
Those are really great crystals, nice work!
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Aug 12, 2014 15:50:28 GMT -5
Copper sulfate may be the same thing, it will do the same.
So will salt.
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Post by glennz01 on Aug 12, 2014 23:33:24 GMT -5
Copper sulfate may be the same thing, it will do the same. So will salt. Copper sulfate is the chemical name you can buy it by.. It takes months of curating the crystals to get them that big. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2014 23:37:07 GMT -5
copper sulfate is $4 a pound at home depot.
so what?
thanks for sharing the nice crystals.
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Post by glennz01 on Aug 13, 2014 0:10:22 GMT -5
I can say once these are made, especially 2nd or 3rd generation crystals, they are very stable in the air at least where i live... I have had them in the open for about 3 years now... they don't look as shiny as they once did though
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Fossilman
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Post by Fossilman on Aug 15, 2014 9:24:06 GMT -5
Liking the color!
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Post by vegasjames on Aug 15, 2014 10:20:16 GMT -5
Copper sulfate may be the same thing, it will do the same. So will salt. Copper sulfate is the chemical name you can buy it by.. It takes months of curating the crystals to get them that big. To get them larger you also need to make sure the growing container is extremely clean. Dust or dirt in the container will create multiple nucleation points and thus you end up with multiple small crystals. With a single nucleation point the copper sulfate should all crystallize on the single nucleation point giving you a larger crystal. Once you have the solution supersaturated I would simply use a small copper sulfate crystal as the nucleation point. |
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Joe
spending too much on rocks
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Post by Joe on Aug 15, 2014 21:26:42 GMT -5
Great activity for kids. Beings that I'm a kid at heart I believe I would enjoy this.
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Post by glennz01 on Aug 15, 2014 21:31:35 GMT -5
Copper sulfate is the chemical name you can buy it by.. It takes months of curating the crystals to get them that big. To get them larger you also need to make sure the growing container is extremely clean. Dust or dirt in the container will create multiple nucleation points and thus you end up with multiple small crystals. With a single nucleation point the copper sulfate should all crystallize on the single nucleation point giving you a larger crystal. Once you have the solution supersaturated I would simply use a small copper sulfate crystal as the nucleation point. Yeah, the main problem is that i may have a large crystal, than overnight the temperature drops 20 degrees or so then warms up (this is in winter) so i never have a constant single crystal |
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Post by Pat on Aug 15, 2014 22:47:20 GMT -5
Neat! Would your crystals exist happily if you sealed them in something to protect them from moisture or temperature?
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Post by glennz01 on Aug 16, 2014 0:51:22 GMT -5
Donno but they have been sitting in the open only protected by dust and still look fine.. If I was on the east cost maybe things would be different. The only thing i would try if i was in a situation like that is clearcoat.
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gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on Aug 16, 2014 1:15:22 GMT -5
Copper sulfate may be the same thing, it will do the same. So will salt. An interesting thing about Salt Lake City is the crystalline salt sculptures made in the Great Salt Lake. Wire frameworks depicting just about anything -- animals, trees, religious symbols, etc. -- are immersed in the salt water and left for a time. Eventually they're coated with white salt crystals up to half and inch diameter or more. They sell like hotcakes to tourists. When I was a kid with my (now illegal and indescribably politically incorrect) Gilbert Chemistry Set, I often made crystals from copper sulphate. I learned a tremendous amount from that kit. |
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Post by glennz01 on Aug 16, 2014 1:24:33 GMT -5
yep chemestry is "too dangerous for kids" hence why i took the lithium out of a battery when i was in middle school and put it in water.. i was expecting an explosion but not the metal to bust into flame!
I wish i had some more cobalt chloride.. That is an awesome color... I don't have enough for crystals thuogh.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Aug 16, 2014 7:07:55 GMT -5
Seems like you let a thin layer of saturated liquid dry out in the bottom of a very clean pyrex casserole dish allowing small crystals to form on the bottom.
Then pick the best to propagate by tying it to a thread and a pencil and hanging the crystal in a clean glass of water saturated with copper sulfate.
The crystal would grow over a period of weeks.
The crystal was only as good as the one you started with.
Salt and copper sulfate are both easily dissolvable in hot water.
Many compounds that dissolve in hot water will form crystals using same method.
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Post by gingerkid on Aug 16, 2014 13:23:07 GMT -5
yep chemestry is "too dangerous for kids" hence why i took the lithium out of a battery when i was in middle school and put it in water.. i was expecting an explosion but not the metal to bust into flame!  Very pretty chalcanthite xtals that you created, glennz01. Gorgeous color. I think they used chalcanthite in Tidy Bowl? Mrs. Pat, I think you can place them in a temperature-controlled environment/cabinet? |
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Post by vegasjames on Aug 16, 2014 14:37:38 GMT -5
yep chemestry is "too dangerous for kids" hence why i took the lithium out of a battery when i was in middle school and put it in water.. i was expecting an explosion You need a larger chunk of metal for that. Same with sodium or potassium. Otherwise they all just fizzle on the top of the water with a nice flame. Yellow if using sodium and purple if using potassium. When using a large chunk in water the reaction is fast and violent igniting the large amount of hydrogen being released and forming a caustic hydroxide in the process. I have a pound of potassium metal, so it is a fun experiment to show kids. A guy I used to know though threw a whole pound of potassium in to a pond. He said it created a water spout 40' tall and killed everything around the pond for years. The alkali metals are not something to play with though unless you really know what you are doing. They can be quite dangerous. |
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