How to prepare a saturated salt solution. How to grow a crystal from salt at home

When using solutions, it is very important to know how much solute is contained in a given amount of solution. The amount of solute contained in a certain amount of a solution is called the concentration of the solution. For example, there are two solutions of table salt, each weighing 100 g, one of them contains 5 g of dissolved salt, and the other 20 g. It is clear that the concentration of the second solution is four times greater than the first.

Percent concentration of solutions

The concentration of a solution is often expressed as a percentage. If the concentration of an aqueous solution of sulfuric acid is 10%, then this means that 100 g (or 100 kg) of the solution contains 10 g (or 10 kg) of sulfuric acid and 90 g (or 90 kg) of water.

The percentage concentration of a solution indicates how many grams of a solute are contained in 100 g of a solution.

Solubility also indicates the concentration of a solution, but only saturated at a given temperature. So, for example, at 20 ° C, the solubility of table salt is 35.9. This means that no more than 35.9 g of table salt can dissolve in 100 g of water at 20 ° C, since this solution will be saturated. What will be the concentration of this solution in percent? The weight of a saturated sodium chloride solution at 20 ° C is: 100 + 35.9 \u003d 135.9 (g). Therefore, the salt in it will be 35.9: 135.9 \u003d 0.263. The concentration of the solution is 26.3%. Thus, the solubility of table salt at 20 ° C is 35.9, and the concentration of this solution, expressed as a percentage, is 26.3. Therefore, solubility and percentage concentration should not be confused: the solubility of a substance indicates how much of it can be dissolved in 100 g of water, and the percentage concentration indicates how much of the solute is contained in 100 g of a solution.

How to prepare 250 g of 6% sodium chloride solution?

First, let's calculate how many grams of table salt and how many grams of water will be required to prepare the specified solution. Let us first calculate the amount of salt: 250 0.06 \u003d 15 (g). Therefore, water will need 250 g–15 g = 235 g. So, to prepare 250 g of a 6% concentration of sodium chloride solution, you need to take 15 g of salt and 235 g (235 ml) of water.

After that, we weigh 15 g of table salt on the scales and place it in a flask. We measure 235 ml of distilled water with a beaker and pour it into a flask with salt. Stir the contents of the flask until completely dissolved.

Table salt in its pure form, or sodium chloride contains sodium 39.34, chlorine 60.66%,
In nature, table salt is found in the water of the seas, oceans, some lakes and underground sources, as well as in the form of layers of crystalline deposits. Depending on the nature of the deposits and methods of extraction, rock salt is distinguished, self-planting, cage, or pool, and boiled salt.
Rock salt is mined from layers located at one or another depth underground. The nearest large deposits of rock salt are located in the area of ​​the city of Sol-Iletsk, Chkalovsky region and the city of Artemovsk, Lugansk region of Ukraine. After the collapse of the USSR, Russia continued to buy salt from Ukraine. Self-planting salt is mined from layers of salt that have settled on the bottom of lakes. Salt crystallization occurs in summer as a result of natural evaporation of lake water. There are current crystallization and old (radical).
A significant amount of sedimentary salt itself is mined in Lake Baskunchak, in Lake Kuuli, in the lakes of Pavlodar region.
Garden or pool salt is extracted from its sediment, obtained in special pools, as a result of natural evaporation of the water of estuaries or some lakes, separated from the sea by narrow strips of coast. Sadochnaya salt is mainly extracted from the water of estuaries or salt lakes of the Crimean region. Evaporated salt is obtained by evaporation of water from natural or artificial brines in special evaporators or vacuum evaporators. Extraction of evaporated salt is concentrated in Slavyansk, Usolye of the Irkutsk region and some other deposits.
properties of table salt. Pure sodium chloride is obtained after crystallization in the form of colorless, regular cubic crystals with a specific gravity of 2.167 and a melting point of 800 °.
The specific gravity of natural salt ranges from 1.95 to 2.2, depending on the size of the crystals and the type of salt. During crystallization (precipitation), a part of the brine is retained inside the crystals, the more, the larger the size of the precipitated crystals. The specific gravity of the brine is less than the specific gravity of pure crystals, so the crystals of natural salt and have a slightly reduced value of the latter. There are fewer brine inclusions in rock salt crystals than in self-planting and pool salt of the current cage, therefore, the specific gravity of rock salt is greater than the specific gravity of self-planting and pool salt. For practical calculations, the specific gravity can be taken equal to 2.2.
Sodium chloride crystals absorb (absorb) moisture at relative air humidity above 75.5%, and lose it at relative humidity below 75.5%. This property explains the change in salt moisture when stored in air without hermetic packaging. Natural salts, especially self-planting and pool salts, containing impurities of calcium and magnesium salts, have increased hygroscopicity compared to pure sodium chloride. When stored in a damp room or in riots in the air, the moisture content of salt can reach without being accompanied by noticeable dissolution,
further absorption of moisture leads to partial dissolution of the salt. Hygroscopicity is largely due to the caking of salt during storage, that is, the adhesion of individual crystals to each other, as a result of which the salt is compacted into a solid homogeneous mass.
Wet salt, due to the stronger mutual adhesion of crystals caused by the presence of a saturated solution film on the crystals, is poorly dissipated; it is much more difficult to distribute it evenly by spreading it from a spatula over the surface of a layer of fish in vats than dry salt.
But wet salt (containing more than 4-5% moisture), compared to dry salt, forms dense, non-crushing lumps when mixed, which stick to the fish more firmly and in greater quantities. Therefore, when salting fish with preliminary mixing it with salt, it is better to use wet salt, while when salting with salt spreading over the layers of fish, it is better to use dry salt.
When salt is mixed with snow or finely crushed ice, the latter melts, since at temperatures above -21.2 ° salt and snow (ice) cannot be present at the same time. When ice (snow) melts in the environment, a large amount of heat is absorbed, and the preparation of cooling mixtures is based on this property. The lowest temperature, equal to -21.2°, is obtained by displacing 100 weight parts of ice (snow) with 33 parts of salt (mixture composition: 24.4% salt and 75.6% snow or ice).
impurities in salt. Natural table salt, in addition to sodium chloride as the main compound, contains impurities of other salt-like compounds, most often salts of alkaline earth metals (calcium, magnesium), insoluble impurities and water. The water content depends on the storage conditions, while the content of impurities of salt-like compounds depends on the type of salt and methods of its extraction. In table. 1 shows the composition of the most common types of table salt in the Russian Federation.
Impurities of magnesium and calcium salts when salting fish are undesirable. In the presence of a significant amount of these impurities, the surface of the fish is severely dehydrated, with dry salting, the formation of brine and the penetration of salt into the fish are delayed, and salted fish acquires a bitter aftertaste. It has been established that when the content of magnesium and calcium salts in sodium chloride is more than 2%, the latter becomes unsuitable for salting fish. Of the other soluble impurities in the salt, potassium chloride and sodium sulfate may be present, but usually in such insignificant quantities that they cannot have any effect on the speed of salting and the quality of the fish.

Insoluble substances are mixed with salt both during its extraction, and during storage and transportation without packaging. With improperly organized production, transportation and storage, the amount of insoluble impurities can be so large that during salting they envelop the surface of the fish and are difficult to remove even with thorough washing.
The composition of insoluble impurities includes both organic and inorganic compounds. Among the inorganic materials there may be sand, clay, coal, which mainly enter during storage and transportation, as well as oxides of iron, aluminum, and carbonic salts of alkaline earth metals. Iron oxides, aluminum oxides are always present in rock salt, while calcium carbonate salts are found in salt obtained from sea water.
Self-planting and garden salts, in addition to contamination with impurities of organic and mineral origin, contain microorganisms that enter it from the brine of lakes and pools, as well as from the outside during storage in the fields, transportation and at places of consumption. The largest number of microorganisms that enter salt from brine is found in fresh salt; during storage (exposure), their number decreases. Among these microorganisms, microorganisms from the group of micrococci, which have the ability to pigmentation, are of the greatest importance. With an increase in air temperature during storage on fish meat salted with such salt, a red color appears, accompanied by the appearance of mucus and the smell of protein breakdown products. Getting along with salt to the enterprises of the fishing industry, pigment-forming bacteria infect warehouses, salt storage areas and boiled-out, rock salt located in the warehouse.
salt quality requirements. The state standard for table salt allowed the following lowest content of sodium chloride and the highest content of impurities (Table 2).

The content of sodium sulfate in terms of dry matter is allowed:
a) for extra salt - no more than 0.2%;
b) for other varieties - no more than 0.5%;
Studies on the influence of impurities contained in salt on the quality of finished salted products, carried out at different times, as well as the practice of salting, have established that for different methods and types of salting, the maximum content of impurities in salt should be as follows (Table 3).
Salt grades from extra (special salted caviar) to grade I inclusive are quite suitable for salting.
Grinding salt. Table salt, depending on the grinding (crystal size), is divided into several numbers: 0,1,2,3. Salt extra has grinding No. 0; the highest and I grades - from No. 0 to 3; salt of the II grade - from No. I to 3. The grinding characteristics are given in table. 4.
Grinding salt or, in other words, the size of salt crystals is very important for salting fish: the rate of salt dissolution, bulk density, its dispersion, and hygroscopicity depend on their size.

The ratio of the surface of crystals to their volume, the so-called specific surface area, is smaller for large crystals than for small ones. When dissolved, the same amount of salt goes into solution from each unit of surface. But if this amount is attributed to a unit of volume or weight of crystals, then for the same period of time salt will dissolve in small crystals much more than in large ones, since the total surface of the former is much larger than the latter. If you want the salt to dissolve quickly, you need to use a finer salt.
In addition, for uniform salting, the most dense distribution of salt crystals is necessary so that the surface occupied by them is close to the surface of the fish. This can be achieved only if, when determining the size of salt crystals, the surface of the fish or, more precisely, its specific surface (the ratio of the surface to the weight of the fish) is taken into account. For example, Pacific herring weighing 200 g has a surface of 280 cm2, and weighing 22 g - 74 cm2. For a saturated salting, the first requires 60 g of salt, and the second - 6 g; 0.21 and 0.08 g, respectively, should be distributed per 1 cm2 of the surface. With the same size of crystals, the ratio of their contact surface to the total surface of large herring will be 2.5 times greater than that of small herring, since the amount of salt per 1 cm3 the surface of the fish, in the first case 2.5 times more than in the second. Therefore, in order for the ratio of the contact surface to the total surface of the fish to be the same, finer salt should be used for salting small herring, which, with the same weight, has a larger surface than coarse salt.
In this regard, a second conclusion can be drawn: the lower the dosage of salt during salting, the smaller the size of the salt crystals and the smaller the grinding number should be used in order to have the largest contact surface of the salt with the fish.
The use of very fine salt (grinding No. 0 and 1) in large quantities during salting can lead to undesirable results. Fine salt, having increased hygroscopicity compared to larger crystals, with a lack of water on the fish for the formation of the first portions of the brine, strongly dehydrates the integumentary tissues and thereby slows down the penetration of salt into the meat. This phenomenon is analogous to the dehydration of the fish surface due to the presence of large amounts of magnesium and calcium salts in the salt. In order to avoid intense dehydration of the fish surface when salted with dry salt, it is preferable to use table salt, consisting of mixtures of crystals of various sizes - up to 3-4 mm inclusive (grinding No. 2). In such a mixture, there are a sufficient amount of crystals of 1 mm and less, which increase the surface of contact between salt and fish, and, quickly dissolving, form the first portions of the brine without severe tissue dehydration. Subsequent portions of the brine are formed due to the dissolution of crystals having a large surface; observations show that if there is a mixture of crystals of various sizes in the salt, the dissolution in the fish-salting dish proceeds normally, if the salting process has begun.
Bulk weight of salt. To account for the amount of salt in salt storages and its current consumption, it is useful to know the bulk weight of salt. Bulk weight of bulk products is the weight of a unit volume (1 m3) in tons or kilograms. Bulk weight depends on the specific gravity of the product, the size of its particles and the ratio of their various sizes, humidity and the degree of pressure on it from the overlying layers. For various types of salts that are used in the fishing industry, bulk density ranges from 1038 to 1365 kg (Table 5). Bulk salt of the same species and mining area is greater in small than in large.

Properties of salt solutions. Sodium chloride is soluble in water, and the solubility, i.e., the limiting amount of it necessary to obtain a saturated solution, changes slightly with increasing temperature (Table 6).

DI. Mendeleev for the temperature range from 0 to 108 ° derived the following formula for determining the limiting dissolution of salt in 100 g of water

where t is the temperature in degrees Celsius
Solubility can be expressed in grams of sodium chloride per 100 g of solution or in grams per 100 g of water. There is a fairly simple relationship between these quantities. Let us denote the salt content (in g) in 100 g of the solution as c, and the amount of salt (in g) that dissolves in 100 g of water to obtain a solution with the indicated salt content as a. Obviously, from grams of salt dissolved in (100-s) g of water, it will dissolve in 100 g of water:

Knowing a, you can calculate c using the formula:

The solubility of sodium chloride in 100 g of water, calculated by formula (2), is given in table. 6.
The almost uniform solubility of sodium chloride within the temperature range of 0 to 20°C is important for the practice of salting, since it is not necessary to change the dosage of salt with a change in temperature within these limits.
Sodium chloride solutions are heavier than water and their specific gravity is greater than one. For a temperature of 15 °, the specific gravity of the solution, referred to the specific gravity of water at 4 °, can be calculated using the following formula by D. I. Mendeleev:

where c is the concentration of salt in the solution as a percentage of its weight To determine the specific gravity, hydrometers or densimeters are used, on the scale of which numbers are plotted showing the value of the specific gravity at 20 ° relative to the specific gravity of water at 4 °, taken equal to one. When using conventional hydrometers (densimeters), the specific gravity is determined with an accuracy of 0.0! and only in the presence of special hydrometers it is possible to increase the accuracy of determination to 0.001.
Along with hydrometers and densimeters, hydrometers with a conditional Baumé degree scale were used in the recent past to determine the specific gravity. 0° of this scale corresponds to the depth of immersion in pure water, and 10° to 10% sodium chloride solution. To convert Baumé degrees to specific gravity, use the following formula:

where n is the Baumé hydrometer index.
In table. Figure 7 shows the specific gravity of salt solutions at 0°, 10°, 20° and the corresponding values ​​of salt concentration as a percentage of the weight of the solution.
When determining the specific gravity of a solution, the temperature of which does not coincide with the calibration temperature of the ariometer, to bring the found value of the specific gravity to a temperature of 20 °, the following formula can be used:

where: d4v20 - specific gravity at 20°;
d4v1 - the same at measurement temperature t;
0.0004 - coefficient of temperature change of the salt solution charge.
The boiling and freezing points of sodium chloride solutions depend on the concentration of the latter: the more concentrated the solution, the higher the boiling point and the lower the freezing point (Table 8).

When a saturated solution is cooled below 0 °, an excess of dissolved salt is first precipitated, as a result of which the salt concentration in the solution decreases, and after it decreases to 24.4%, the solution freezes at a temperature of -21.2 °. The salt that precipitates at temperatures below 0° has the composition NaCl 2H20. i.e., it crystallizes with two water molecules. With a further increase in concentration, the freezing point does not decrease, but rises, and not water, but salt is released in solid form. The temperature of -21.2 ° is the lowest of all possible freezing temperatures for a common salt solution.
The reaction of sodium chloride solutions and natural salts is almost neutral. According to the standard for table salt, the reaction of an aqueous solution of salt to litmus should be neutral or close to it.
A saturated salt solution at a relative air humidity of 75.5% does not lose moisture by evaporation and does not absorb it from the air. This equilibrium relative humidity is called the hygroscopic point of a saturated salt solution and is approximately equal to the hygroscopic point of solid salt.
Pickle concentrators. In addition to crystalline salt, salting consumes a large amount of aqueous solutions of its brine or artificial brine. To prepare them, it is advisable to use special installations - brine concentrators, the productivity of which can vary widely. cloth (burlap) or a clean mesh, which serves to place on it a layer with a height of at least 50-40 cm.
Directly near the bottom of the brine concentrator there is a drain pipe. Water enters the upper part through a perforated pipeline or through a perforated surface and is evenly distributed over the entire cross section of the salt layer in the brine concentrator. By adjusting the flow rate of the water and the height of the salt layer, it is easy to achieve the outflow of a saturated brine having a specific gravity of 1.2.
To quickly obtain large quantities of brine, we offer a brine concentrator, in which water is pumped into the lower part under pressure, and brine flows out from the upper part.
The salt layer in this case is maintained at a height of at least 1 m, so that complete saturation occurs with a single movement of water through the salt layer.

The term "crystal" should be understood as a substance in which the smallest particles, atoms, are arranged in a certain order. They form a crystal lattice - a three-dimensionally periodic ordered spatial packing.

As a result, outwardly the crystals have the form of regular symmetrical polyhedra. They can vary greatly in shape and have from four to several hundred faces that intersect at certain angles with each other.

Salt is a member of the crystal family

One of such solids with an ordered symmetrical structure is ordinary salt.

It is a food product that occurs naturally in the form of a mineral called halite. A large amount of it is found in other salty springs. If you look at grains of salt with a microscope or a magnifying glass, you will notice that they have flat edges. This means that they are in a crystalline state. In this article, we will talk about how to make a salt crystal yourself. Actually, it's easy. To understand how the formation of salt crystals occurs, that is, the process of crystallization, we suggest that you carry out an interesting experiment at home. It is advisable for a child to perform it under the guidance of an adult. Remember that the shape of a salt crystal can be different, including cubic, prismatic, or any other - more complex. However, the faces of the salt always intersect at right angles.

Let's talk about how to make a crystal from salt: the necessary supplies and tools

Well, let's get to work. What materials and tools will we need to conduct this interesting experience? Of course, water, transparent glass glasses, a string or a thick thread, a wooden spatula. You should also prepare the core of a ballpoint pen or a regular pencil.

And most importantly, you need to be patient. The fact is that the crystallization process takes time - about three weeks. How to make a crystal from salt? Take good salt, without impurities. It is advisable to purchase a product with a purity of at least 98%, otherwise the experiment may fail. If the salt contains a large number of various impurities, then the copy will turn out to be ugly and will have flaws. from salt, let's start by preparing a highly concentrated solution. Pour warm water (200 ml) into a glass or jar and start adding salt. Do not forget to constantly stir the liquid with a wooden spatula. This is necessary so that the salt dissolves well. After the solution is ready (this can be determined by the fact that the introduced salt has ceased to dissolve in a glass of water with normal stirring), the mixture should be heated. Fill the saucepan with water, put on fire, heat the water. Then carefully place a glass of concentrated saline in it and wait until it heats up.

We continue to grow beautiful salt crystals

Then we take out our glass cup from the pan and leave it alone.

On the core of a ballpoint pen (pencil) we fix a thread to which we tie a small crystal of salt. We put the rod on the glass and immerse the rope with the "seed" in the solution. It is on this crystal of salt that our beautiful exhibit will grow. That's all, now it remains only to wait. We put the glass in a warm place and monitor the crystallization process every day. In no case should you shake, turn over or lift the container with the solution. Gradually, the crystal will grow and become large enough. When this happens, you can carefully remove it from the solution. We advise you to dry it with a napkin, but be extremely careful - your specimen is very fragile. Cut off the excess thread and cover the crystal with a colorless varnish to extend its "life". Now you know how to get salt crystals at home. We hope you will be able to repeat our simple experience.

Crystals from the experience of creating a beautiful exhibit

If you want to grow large, even and beautiful specimens, pay attention to the following experiment. For work you will need the following materials and tools:

• transparent glass;
• water;
• sea ​​salt;
• paper;
• napkin;
• wooden spatula;
• flat stone of medium size.

The technology of the crystal growth process is as follows. First, pour not too hot water into a glass and start pouring sea salt into it, gradually, one teaspoon at a time. Don't forget to stir with a spatula. Salt must be added to the liquid until it stops dissolving. Now we take a napkin and filter the resulting solution through it. This is done so that the motes do not interfere with the formation of an even and beautiful sample.

The process of creating large salt crystals

How to make a crystal from salt: after filtering, put a small pebble into the solution (can be replaced with a nut) and set to cool. Remember that the slower our salty liquid cools, the larger the crystals will be. It is advisable to cover the glass with paper and put it in a dark place, protected from drafts. After two or three days, you will see how your pebble is overgrown with small crystals. Make sure that the solution completely covers the "seed" at all times. You should also clean the liquid weekly from dust and excess crystals that form at the bottom of the glass. As it evaporates, it is necessary to add highly concentrated to the container. Make sure that it is clean and not cold (room temperature). In addition, it is necessary to periodically remove the crust that appears at the bottom of the container. After two to three weeks, your crystal will be about 2-3 cm long. And in order to get a larger copy, it will take more time - about 6 weeks.

Correcting salt crystals

Remember that you may not immediately get beautiful and even crystals. In any case, practice is needed. We advise you to carefully correct the crystallization of the samples, removing not very beautiful growths. This can be done with a sharp knife, scraping off the excess. Also, using Vaseline, you can stop the formation of faces. If necessary, the Vaseline layer can be removed from the sample with acetone. When your crystal grows to the desired size, you can carefully remove it from the solution. After that, gently wipe the edges with a napkin. You can cover the sample with hairspray: this way your crystal will become less fragile, brittle and retain its beautiful appearance for a long time.

Original crafts made from salt crystals

At home, you can not only grow an ordinary salt crystal, but also make an interesting craft. To do this, you will need the following tools and materials:

• water;
• salt;
• wire;
• threads;
• filter paper;
• jar - 2 pcs.;
• pot;
• wooden spatula.

Let's start by dissolving salt in water. We introduce it into the liquid in small portions, adding the next one only after the final dissolution of the previous one. When the salt ceases to dissolve, proceed to the next step. We take a pan, fill it with water and put the container on the stove on a small fire. We put a jar of saline in it. We follow the heating process. We continue to dissolve the salt, bringing the temperature to 65 degrees. That's it, turn off the gas, but do not remove the jar from the pan yet. The fact is that the temperature difference can lead to the fact that the glass container will burst. After the solution has cooled, you can safely get the jar out of the pan.

Solution filtration and crystallization

After that, we proceed to the purification of the solution from impurities. We take a clean jar and fix filter paper on its neck. Now carefully pour the solution into a new container. All undissolved salt crystals and impurities remain on the filter paper. We have a clear solution. Now we put the jar of liquid in a cool place and do the "seed". We take a copper wire and make any figure of an animal, a flower, a twig, an asterisk from it. We wrap the wire with thread. We place the workpiece in a jar of saline, cover the container with a napkin, leaving only a small gap. That's all, it remains only to wait until the growth of crystals from salt occurs. After the wire has grown, you can get it out of the solution. This must be done very carefully, as salt crystals can break.

Instruction

In order to grow a salt crystal at home, you should prepare the necessary equipment, materials and tools.
1) The main ingredient is salt. The purer it is, the more successful the result of the experiment will be, and the clearer the crystal faces will be. Considering that table salt in most cases contains a large amount of small debris, it is better to give preference to sea salt without dyes and all kinds of additives.
2) It is also more correct to take water that is maximally purified from various impurities, i.e. distilled. If this is not at hand, pre-filter plain water.
3) For growing crystals, use a thoroughly washed non-metallic container that will not oxidize under the influence of salts. It is better to take glassware. If even the smallest specks still appear inside the bowl, they will certainly slow down the growth of the main crystal, turning into a kind of basis for the development of small specimens.
4) The basis for the future large crystal can be either a small crystal of salt or any other object, for example, a wire, a thread, a piece of a branch.
5) Also useful when forming a crystal from salt is a wooden stick for stirring the solution, paper napkins, filter or gauze, varnish for coating the finished salt crystal.

Prepare the materials and tools necessary for growing a crystal, be patient and get to work. The process itself will not require special participation from you. In a glass cup, prepare a saturated saline solution from 100 ml of hot water and 40 g of salt, let the liquid cool and pass it through filter paper or cheesecloth folded in several layers.

The next step is to place the object, around which the crystal will subsequently form, into a container with saline. If you want to get a copy of the traditional form, put an ordinary grain of salt in the bottom of the cup. If you want to grow an elongated crystal, tie a grain of salt to a thread and fasten it in a container so that it does not touch its bottom and walls. If your plans are to obtain a complex bizarre shape, a small curved twig or twisted wire should serve as the basis for the future crystal. As a basis for a crystal, you can use absolutely any object that is not subject to salt oxidation.

Be sure to cover the cup with the crystal with a lid, a sheet of paper or a napkin to prevent debris and dust from getting into it. Next, send the container for storage in a dark, cool place without drafts and provide it with complete peace of mind. During the development of the crystal, do not allow changes in air humidity and sudden changes in temperature in the room where it is located, exclude shaking it and moving it too often. Do not place the crystal near heating appliances and near the stove.

As the crystal grows, the salt content of the liquid surrounding it will decrease. With this in mind, once a week add a saturated saline solution to the container. When the crystal has grown to the desired size, carefully remove it from the liquid, place it on a clean paper towel and blot gently with a soft cloth. In order for the fragile crystal to gain strength, cover it with a colorless nail polish. If this is not done, the craft will collapse. In a dry air environment, the crystal will crumble into powder, with high humidity it will turn into gruel.

White crystals are obtained from table and sea salt. You can get a craft of a different shade with the help of several simple ways.
1) A colored salt crystal can be obtained if you use not ordinary salt, but, for example, copper sulfate, which can endow the result of your work with a rich blue color.
2) Instead of clear nail polish, you can use a color coat to treat the crystal.
3) At the stage of preparing the crystal, add food coloring to the salt solution, for example, to color Easter eggs.

If you notice that the crystal does not take on the shape that was planned, carefully scrape off the excess areas with a sharp knife or nail file. Subsequently, treat those places of the crystal that you would not like to allow to grow with glycerin or any other thick fatty compound. You can remove the applied product with alcohol or acetone.

It is possible to fail in growing a crystal from salt for several reasons. First, a piece of salt taken as a basis can dissolve. This is usually indicated by an insufficiently saturated brine solution that you used to grow the craft. Secondly, instead of one large crystal, you can get several small ones at once. This can happen due to the presence of foreign impurities in the solution or the ingress of specks, dust particles and other undesirable objects into it. Thirdly, when obtaining colored specimens, the color of the finished crystals may turn out to be uneven. The main reason for this reaction is insufficiently thorough mixing of the dye after adding it to the brine.

A more or less decent-sized crystal will form no earlier than 3-4 weeks after placing its base in a saline solution, so be patient and do not forget to follow the basic recommendations for self-growing salt crystals at home.

Related article

In order to grow a crystal from salt, you first need to prepare a sufficiently concentrated salt solution. Salt is added to a glass of water until it no longer dissolves during stirring.

Now you should heat the resulting mixture to achieve complete dissolution of the selected salt. A glass of salt solution is placed in a container of hot water. Then the resulting concentrated salt solution is poured into a special glass or container. With the help of a jumper (it can also be made from a ball-bearing rod), a crystalline "seed" is suspended on a thread - a salt crystal, so that it is completely immersed in the resulting solution and does not touch the walls of the chemical glass. Also, the crystal can be lowered to the bottom of the glass. On this "seed" your future crystal will grow. The container with saline should be placed in a warm place and left open. To grow a crystal from salt, you need to wait a while. After a few days, your crystal will increase significantly in size. At the end of three days after the start of the experiment, the thread with the “seed”, which is lowered into the concentrated saline solution, will turn into a “necklace” of small crystals. If you want your crystal to grow even faster, you must repeat the procedure for preparing the saline solution. Your "seed" can be placed in a new salt solution and add the required portion of table salt. It must be remembered that the saline solution must be highly concentrated - during the preparation of the mixture, salt must remain at the bottom of the beaker. For example, in 100 ml of water at a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius, approximately 35 grams of edible salt can be dissolved. As the temperature increases, the solubility of table salt increases. When your crystal grows to the desired size, it should be pulled out of the solution and dried with a soft cloth or paper towel. Then the thread is cut off, and the edges of the crystal are covered with a colorless varnish in order to keep it from "weathering" in the air. Using this method, table salt of any shade or shape can be grown.

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Sources:

• what can be made from salt

One of the types of crafts made from natural materials are home-grown salt crystals. In addition, many are interested in whether it is possible to grow salt on their own in order to eat it. But in reality, you can grow a beautiful crystal only for decorative purposes, because for this you will use the salt that you buy in the store.

You will need

• Water, a container in which water can be heated, sodium chloride, a small solid object, a stove on which water can be heated, thread, petroleum jelly.

Instruction

Take a thread and fasten a small hard object on it, such as a bead, beads or a small nut. The entire thread above our small object must be treated with petroleum jelly. Dip the thread with this item in a saturated saline solution. The solution should completely cover the load (small object on the string), but the load should not touch the bottom.

Keep the load in the solution for at least a few days. If the crystals stop growing too soon, remove the Vaseline from the thread near the crystal.

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note

Any chemical experiments require caution, even if you are working with relatively safe reagents such as table salt. When using other salts and dyes, you must be sure that you are familiar with their properties.

Helpful advice

The more time you spend on the growing process, the larger the crystals will be. If you plan to grow crystals for a long time, keep the container in a warm place. And to adjust the shape, you can scrape off excess growths with a knife.

Sources:

• On this page you will find a detailed description of the whole process of growing salt crystals.

Advice 4: How to grow a crystal from table salt at home

Growing a crystal on your own, at home, will be possible even for people who are little familiar with chemical processes, and the result, like the manufacturing process itself, will undoubtedly bring great pleasure. So, get ready, we begin to conjure and "chemize".

You will need

• Colored soluble salt (dichloride or nickel sulfate) or common salt; spring or filtered water, metal container, stove, rope (woolen or pile thread), colorless nail polish.

Instruction

To get started, purchase a colored soluble salt, such as dichloride or sulfate. You can buy this substance in almost any pharmacy or order it online. If it is impossible to get the above material, ordinary table salt is also suitable.

Take a glass of clean water. Water and salt should be in a ratio of 1/2.5, i.e., for example, for 100 ml of water you will need at least 250 grams of salt. Slowly add the salt to the water and stir until completely dissolved.

Remove the container with the resulting supersaturated solution and, without letting it cool, lower a small rope inside (there will be woolen or any other pile thread, as it will help the crystal to be better attached to the base).

Over the next three days, salt crystallization begins. Cooling the solution too quickly can result in an irregular and unattractive shape. That is why it should be cooled, it is best to do this at room temperature. Then you will get the right shape, elegant crystals.

Remove the finished crystal from the solution and blot it on all sides with a paper towel. If necessary, cut off the end of the woolen thread and immediately cover all edges with a clear varnish (normal varnish will do for splitting over time in direct contact with air)

As you can see, growing crystals is a very entertaining and effortless undertaking. After three days, the thread dipped into the water literally turns into a shiny, sparkling necklace that can become a stylish accessory, decoration on the New Year tree, or just a pride of the first successful witchcraft in the home kitchen!

Helpful advice

Attention: the success of the experiment and the beauty of the crystal directly depend on the quality of the water, so it is better to choose spring or filtered water.

Related article

Sources:

• salt crystals

Do you want to grow a beautiful mineral at home? Easily! In nature, minerals are often formed in aqueous mineralized solutions. The same principle can be applied at home. All you need to do is choose which mineral you would like. For example, check out how easy it is to grow the amazing blue mineral chalcanthite at home.

You will need

• 100 grams of copper sulfate, a jar, 100-150 ml of water, thread, pencil.

Instruction

Buy two bags of blue vitriol at any garden supply store. Usually sold in 50 grams, therefore, you need to purchase 100 grams of vitriol to grow a crystal. Take a small jar and fill it with water. The amount of water should not be large, no more than 150 and not me 100 ml. Heat up the water.

Pour the rest of the contents of the sachets into a jar. Remember, the water must be hot. Stir well to achieve a supersaturated solution. The solution should be dark blue. In the future, a precipitate will form at the bottom of the jar until the solution becomes saturated. When the solution gets rid of supersaturation, the color will change to . If the solution is not supersaturated, there are two solutions. Either buy another bag of blue vitriol, or wait until the water is gone. In this case, you will have to wait a few days.

Cool the solution. When the temperature reaches room values, lower the previously harvested grains on a thread into the solution. As soon as precipitation begins, the grain will begin to grow. The mineral grows for about 4 days.

Once a day, the crystal must be pulled out and the solution heated. Also stir the sediment, cool the solution again and lower the vitriol grain again. For smooth edges of the future crystal, growths from the thread can be cleaned off or dissolved.

Take it out after a few days mineral, dry. Cut the thread. Avoid prolonged exposure to water. The resulting precipitate can be reused.

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1. When preparing solutions, cleanliness should be observed. All necessary utensils must be thoroughly washed in advance. Solutions should be prepared using pure reagents and distilled water.

2. Solids to be dissolved, especially hardly soluble, are recommended to be crushed, since the dissolution of large crystals and lumps is very slow.

3. Some substances, when ground into a fine powder, tend to float on the surface of water without being wetted. Before dissolving, such powders should be ground in a mortar with a small amount of water until a homogeneous slurry is formed, which is then washed off with water into a glass and then dissolved as usual. Sometimes, before dissolving, the powder is moistened with a few drops of alcohol.

4. The use of hot water solutions for precision work is not recommended. Although heating speeds up the dissolution process, it leads to a change in concentration due to evaporation and inaccuracies in the measurement of volumes.

5. If the dissolution is slow, the suspension must be stirred with a mechanical stirrer or, better, shaken in a closed bottle or flask on a mechanical shaker.

6. Easily soluble solids and liquids are stirred by hand in a closed vessel (unless evolution of gases or vapors is foreseen) by shaking or inverting the vessel several times; you can mix them with a glass spatula in a glass.

7. When dissolving strong acids, especially sulfuric and nitric acids, acid should be added to water, but in no case vice versa.

8. It should be remembered that the weighing of liquid acids, as well as volatile liquids, can only be carried out in hermetically sealed vessels. More often, the required amounts of liquids are measured with graduated cylinders or pipettes.

The density of a liquid is either measured using densimeter or found in reference books. In the latter case, the measurement of the liquid volume must be made at the same temperature for which the density is indicated: a difference of even a few degrees can lead to noticeable errors.

9. Dissolution of dry alkalis in water must be done by adding alkali to water in small portions and gently mixing. If you leave granular or flaked alkali in a vessel of water for some time without stirring, the granules will stick together into a single lump, which will take a very long time to dissolve, even if stirring is then resumed.

10. Concentrated solutions of caustic alkalis are not recommended to be stored; they are prepared immediately before use. If there is a need for storage, polyethylene bottles are used, or glass bottles are lined with paraffin on the inside, since concentrated alkalis leach the glass. To apply a protective layer, a 10-15% solution of paraffin in gasoline is prepared and poured into a bottle in such an amount that it is enough to evenly wet the entire inner surface. Then the bottle is blown with air until the gasoline vapors are completely removed.

11. If it is necessary to prepare a saturated solution of a substance whose solubility in water is unknown, the substance is added in small portions, each time achieving complete dissolution, until the last portion is no longer soluble. It should be borne in mind that as the concentration of the solution increases, the dissolution rate decreases. Therefore, it is possible to be sure that the state of saturation has been reached only if the amount of solid has not decreased after at least half an hour of stirring the solution.

It is also recommended to prepare a saturated solution in warm water and then cool it to room temperature. Some of the solute must then precipitate. The exception is very few substances (for example, lithium carbonate), whose solubility in water decreases with increasing temperature.