Why didn't my borax crystals work?

For the crystals to grow, it's really important that the solution is saturated when the water is hot. Otherwise, the solution will not be supersaturated when it cools, and crystals won't form (the background information to the project idea discusses this, if you want some more details).

Why are my sugar crystals not growing?

If crystals don't grow it is almost always due to lack of sugar. If after 24 hours you don't see any crystal growth, pour the syrup back into the pan and add more sugar. 1/4 c. or so and heat once more until it is a hot syrup consistency. Only pour and heat one jar at a time if you used different colors of syrup.

How long does it take for borax crystals to form?

In about 24 hours, crystals will form! Once they have formed, remove them while attached to the sticks from the borax solution. Allow them to dry out a bit. While you can look and touch them just about as soon as you remove them from the solution, they will be even more gorgeous if you allow them to dry.

Why are my alum crystals not growing?

If the crystal stops growing or decreases in size, the solution is no longer saturated so a new one will need to be made. To do this first carefully remove your crystal, then warm the solution and dissolve some more alum in it. Then, when it has cooled back to room temperature, return the crystal to the solution.

How do you make borax crystals stronger?

Since heating up the water increases the amount of borax that can be dissolved into the water, cooling it down to a low temperature will decrease the amount and thus, the borax will fall out of the water and create more crystals.

DIY borax crystals! (And the science behind them!)

Do borax crystals grow better in warm or cold temperatures?

The solubility of most solids increases with temperature. In other words, more Borax may be dissolved in hot water than cold water. So if a hot, saturated mixture is cooled, there's more Borax than can be contained by the colder water, and so Borax may fall out of the mixture, forming crystals.

What would happen if you put your borax crystals back into some hot water?

What would happen if you put borax crystals back in hot water? Hot water can hold more borax crystals than cold water because, when water is heated, its molecules move farther apart, making room for more of the borax crystals to dissolve. This borax stuck to the pipe cleaner and new borax crystals began to grow.

How do you speed up crystal growth?

Boiling the water and placing the jar or glass in a warm place will speed up the formation of crystals.

How long does it take for alum crystals to grow?

Cover the jar and leave it for 24 hours for the crystals to form. Once you've got your starter crystal, all you need to do is suspend it in your saturated alum solution by a piece of string and cover the jar. After 24 hours, your crystal should be a lot bigger!

How do you increase crystal growth?

Slow Cooling

A Dewar with hot water frequently does the trick. A variation of this method is to prepare a saturated solution at room temperature and place the container in a cold place. E.g. thf is still liquid at -80°C, which allows growing crystals in a dry-ice acetone bath (or in the -80°C freezer).

Can you reuse borax crystals?

You can reuse the Borax solution over and over!

Bring it to boiling in the microwave, and add more water and Borax as needed. That's another reason I like using the pipe cleaners - instead of putting food coloring into the solution and getting many crystals of the same color, you get tons of colors at once!

Are borax crystals safe to touch?

It is a toxic chemical so make sure you do the pouring with it and wash hands after touching it. They should be safe to hold and play with once completed, as long as kids do not ingest it!

How do you dissolve borax crystals?

Borax crystals are pretty hearty. To remove any crystals that may have grown on the sides of your jar simply fill the jar with hot water and let the Borax dissolve.

Does light affect sugar crystal growth?

Light is not expected to affect the process of crystal growth.

Do crystals grow better in hot or cold water?

Because warmth is key to forming crystals, the jar's surroundings should be warm also for optimum crystal growth. Warm air temperature aids water evaporation, causing the crystals to grow more quickly. Crystals will still grow in cooler temperatures, but it will take much longer for the water to evaporate.

How long does it take crystals to grow?

Space: Because crystals often need 1-4 days to grow, you will need an area where they can sit undisturbed by children or pets for several days. A warm, dry environment: Not all, but many crystals grow faster when they are in a warm, dry location that encourages evaporation, a critical process in crystal growth.

What is the best material to grow crystals?

The key to either method of growing crystals is to make a supersaturated solution of water and salt or sugar. In this experiment, water is called the solvent, and the salt or sugar is called the solute. You can use regular old sugar, and either rock salt or Epsom salt.

Is alum the same as borax?

Borax (Sodium tetraborate) is used as a cleaner in many parts of the world and may be purchasable in supermarkets or home handyman stores. Boric acid on the other hand is used as a toxic pesticide. (Sodium tetraborate is a salt of Boric acid). Alum is Aluminium Sulfate.

How do you encourage crystallization?

Agitation during cooling may cause rapid crystallization, yielding less pure crystals. If no crystal formation is evident upon cooling, induce crystallization by gently scratching the inside walls of the flask with a glass rod or adding a small seed crystal of the compound being recrystallized.

Why didn't my Epsom salt crystals grow?

No Crystal Growth

This is usually caused by using a solution that isn't saturated. The cure for this is to dissolve more solute into the liquid. Stirring and applying heat can help to get solute into the solution. Keep adding solute until you start to see some accumulate at the bottom of your container.

Which grows faster salt or sugar crystals?

Conclusion. The salt crystals did grow at least 3 days faster than the sugar.

Why do borax crystals turn white?

If borax crystals are kept in a warm dry place for a long time, some of the water will escape into the air. That part of the crystal that has lost water falls apart into a powder. The little particles of the powder scatter the light and therefore look white. This process of losing water is called dehydration.

Will borax crystals dissolve?

Hot water holds more borax crystals than cold water. That's because heated water molecules move farther apart, making room for more of the borax crystals to dissolve. When no more of the solution can be dissolved, you have reached saturation.

Are borax crystals real crystals?

Borax is an example of crystal - "a solid with flat sides and a symmetrical shape because its molecules are arranged in a unique, repeating pattern." Every crystal has a repeating pattern based on its unique shape.