Crystal Growing

[InspiredByMe]

No, not the mef kind.

Today I went to the mall to go shopping. One of the stores that I went into was Swarovski. They ship their crystals form the Czech Republic to the US. But what really took me buy surprise was their prices. $950 for a blue bird, probably no less than 500g probably! Then I thought in a science way.

The crystals were mostly clear I'm guessing potassium dihydrogen phosphate or epsom salt, but they had some other colors that were blue, copper sulfate I'm guessing and redish yellow, maybe potassium ferricyanide.

Now I have grown crystals before, not quite that big but my biggest was 211g. What I wonder is how they get their crystals so clear and how do they cut them to to reflect a lot of light.

I think I could make a profit off this, the local jeweler likes crystals alot. I could probably sell a big copper sulfate and she could cut it down and make a profit. But what would be even better is to get it clear.

Now 1kg of copper sulfate pentahydrate can cost as low as $5. I could sell it for probably $200. Surely it would take some time about a year but, if I made several over a year I could come into a pretty penny.

But how do they get them so clear! It's aggravating.

Website for store Swarovski (http://www.swarovski.com/Web_US/en/index).

[moxsniks]

because its glass, lead glass or crystal

[InspiredByMe]

because its glass, lead glass or crystal
Well...duh.

They use chems to color them and supersaturated solutions will naturally have crystals form on the bottom.

[stateofhack]

You can grow some nice methamphetamine shards will acetone :D

[InspiredByMe]

You can grow some nice methamphetamine shards will acetone :D

Yeah I'm gonna grow some shards and sell them to a jewler cheaply, meanwhile I could sell them on the streets for more money.

Oh and if you want shards get a huge pan and heat it up, then put your solution across the surface in a very thin layer, it will grow fast.

[Hydroponichronic]

Heh, I like the original premise of this thread. This would be a cool way to make money via chemistry LEGALLY. I wouldn't know how to make large transparent crystals except by excruciatingly slow rxtalization or by just melting and cooling the damn stuff, though this would only work for glass. Alternatively, Pyrex is by far the easiest glass to work with in my experience, namely because is softens so fast. You could probably melt down a bunch of old broken labeware into a clear glob of workable stuff using a big blowtorch or something. I can't imaging we wouldn't be able to scale up a blowtorch to have a half-meter long, sixth-meter wide flame that runs off 5 gal propane tanks. Think of it like a ghetto glass-shaping apparatus. And coloration might be as simple as holding metals in the flame before it hits the glass.

[King Owl]

I often spend days at a time growing inch-long xtals of DMT, I'm sure a similar technique could be applied to these substances. A buddy of mine rextals his meth on a string over the flask, National Geographic style :)

[JoePedo]

The crystals were mostly clear I'm guessing...

...glasswork. Which is mostly done by heating & melting, lacing & stirring, cooling & cutting...

Now I have grown crystals before, not quite that big but my biggest was 211g. What I wonder is how they get their crystals so clear and how do they cut them to to reflect a lot of light.

The latter is known for diamond. You're going to have to study shit like refraction angles for the substance and do a little trig if you want to get precise.

The former is primarily substance dependent.

Props on the 211g shard, btw.

I could probably sell a big copper sulfate and she could cut it down and make a profit.

Problem : your ring washes away in a rainstorm. ;)

But how do they get them so clear! It's aggravating.

Because it's block-forged glass, cut.

As for how to get other crystals so clear... pick the right substance. Metallic iron crystals are not known for transparency. Sodium chloride is.

...and incidentally, cocrystallization of cupric carbonate with cupric sulphate may be called malachite, while quality crystallization of calcium carbonate is often called aragonite, I believe. ;)

But... yes. Don't confuse glass with a real crystal, it's not. Nonetheless, I dig the alchemy of stones - especially ones that don't vaporize in a rainstorm while still looking pretty. ;)

p.s. Melt down a little alumina and add a speck of iron. See what happens. ;)

[Rainycity]

you have to... you have to do sumthing ,.. something like a crystall ahah i have no idea you is Smart

[Kwinnie Bogan]

Oh and if you want shards get a huge pan and heat it up, then put your solution across the surface in a very thin layer, it will grow fast.

Holy shit, I need to grab my frypan and I'm gona B a rich nigga!

[InspiredByMe]

Because it's block-forged glass, cut.

As for how to get other crystals so clear... pick the right substance. Metallic iron crystals are not known for transparency. Sodium chloride is.

...and incidentally, cocrystallization of cupric carbonate with cupric sulphate may be called malachite, while quality crystallization of calcium carbonate is often called aragonite, I believe. ;)

But... yes. Don't confuse glass with a real crystal, it's not. Nonetheless, I dig the alchemy of stones - especially ones that don't vaporize in a rainstorm while still looking pretty. ;)

p.s. Melt down a little alumina and add a speck of iron. See what happens. ;)

I'll try the alum, but I also know potassium sodium tartrate makes really good clear crystals. Cupric acetate makes really nice black crystals, the jeweler would buy these probably, but need cupric acetate, copper carbonate and vinegar should work. Monoammonium phosphate makes some good clear crystals, hmm I think that's in an old fire extinguisher of mine that's empty. I could layer copper sulfate in an alum or other crystal to protect it from water.

Well if the jeweler won't buy big and cloudy ones I know a rock selling place that my take one.

Now time to brush up on glass cutting or look for someone who has talents in that area...

[sexualjesus]

I'll try the alum, but I also know potassium sodium tartrate makes really good clear crystals. Cupric acetate makes really nice black crystals, the jeweler would buy these probably, but need cupric acetate, copper carbonate and vinegar should work. Monoammonium phosphate makes some good clear crystals, hmm I think that's in an old fire extinguisher of mine that's empty. I could layer copper sulfate in an alum or other crystal to protect it from water.

Well if the jeweler won't buy big and cloudy ones I know a rock selling place that my take one.

Now time to brush up on glass cutting or look for someone who has talents in that area...

have any luck? im gunna do some research into crystals because i know jackshit in this area.

an idea that comes to mind is that old video on jewtube about the niggers makeing diamonds in the microwave out of charcoal, i wonder if you could make crystals in the microwave like they make those fake diamonds

(i know the diamon thing was a hoax, but hey could be an idea to make crystals)

[sexualjesus]

also topaz
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topaz

apperently aluminium hit with flourine, both extremely otc but i dont think topaz is worth much, my ear ring is gold with a 1gram topaz rock that cost 20 bucks so if you make a kilo rock i guess you could make some easy cash

[InspiredByMe]

I just found out from the jeweler that the Swarovski crystals have an aurora borealis effect to them. This is caused by coating it apparently, I'm gonna call their factory to see if I can figure out what it is.

Basic crystal growing is done by dissolving your solute in water to create a supersaturated solution. It takes a while to recrystallize but after awhile you should have small crystals. To make a big crystal you have to take the biggest crystal out of your solution, this is called the seed crystal. Once you have that you have to make another supersaturated solution then suspend the seed crystal by attaching it to nylon string. Use nylon or fishing wire to prevent other crystals from climbing up it. Then you tie it on a piece of metal, wood etc. to suspend it across the container of the supersaturated solution. Make sure it does not touch the bottom or the crystals will fall to the bottom and not on your seed crystal. Within 3 months or more you could have a fairly decent sized crystal.

Some basic crystal recipes can be found here:
http://www.chemistry.co.nz/growing_crystals_recipes.htm
http://chemistry.about.com/od/crystalrecipes/Crystal_Recipes.htm

[Leshrac]

Melted high-grade glass poured in a mold and polished maybe ? :facepalm:

[InspiredByMe]

Melted high-grade glass poured in a mold and polished maybe ? :facepalm:

Did you even look at the site linked on the first page? :facepalm:

[Leshrac]

Did you even look at the site linked on the first page? :facepalm:

Yes, but it was a wild guess as per the 'looking like blue glass' comment because i know some are made this way. ;)

[InspiredByMe]

Yes, but it was a wild guess as per the 'looking like blue glass' comment because i know some are made this way. ;)

I've talked with the jeweler and the thing that attracts most people to it is the aurora borealis affect which is done by coating it with something, which I have yet to find out.

[sexualjesus]

apart from crystals has anyone thought of makeing synthetic diamonds, although makeing synthetic diamonds seems almost imposible for the average man, thats what they said about lsd. anyone have any quick and dirty ways to make sub par equivelents?

also they use cubic zirconia as a cheap synthetic option instead of diamonds, but it turns out theres a more closer option called moissanite, its close to diamonds, easy to make, but itd be pretty obvious to tell the difference due to weight.

so an idea would be to use glass inside of it, weigh it down to the perfect weight, and spray it with some epoxy that will reduce refractivity.

[edit] Jewelry use
Having a higher refractive index than diamond, moissanite is the most brilliant of colorless jewels, due to its double refraction. Moissanite also has a lower specific gravity than diamonds; it is 13% lighter than diamonds by volume (moissanite has a specific gravity of 3.20, and diamond has a specific gravity of 3.52). These optical and physical properties translate to a physically larger gem of equivalent weight and clarity. While a 1 carat (200 mg) round brilliant cut diamond is typically 6.5 mm wide when cut to ideal proportions, a one carat moissanite should come out to be about 6.7 mm in diameter. Moissanite clarity is comparable to diamonds depending on the make-up of the material. As most synthetics have low amounts of foreign material present inside them synthetic diamonds, synthetic cubic zirconia and moissanite all have similar clarity scales. But just like synthetic diamonds, synthetic moissanite, the most common type of moissanite, can have a greenish or yellow tint visible to the naked eye.

Because moissanite and diamonds look similar and have a few similar properties, jewelry stores today market moissanite as a diamond alternative. SiC used in jewelry today is manufactured by multiple companies across the world.

[RAOVQ]

It's probably worth noting that crystals made from copper sulphate and the like do dissolve quite easily, and will leave blue everywhere. growing crystals is an excellent idea for some beer money if you have someone to buy them, but something a little less water soluble might be a better.

[InspiredByMe]

It's probably worth noting that crystals made from copper sulphate and the like do dissolve quite easily, and will leave blue everywhere. growing crystals is an excellent idea for some beer money if you have someone to buy them, but something a little less water soluble might be a better.

Already been mentioned and solved.

Sexualjesus moissanite would be nice to try. Can't find a specific synthesis but here's something from the wiki.
Acheson mixed coke and silica in a furnace and found a crystalline product characterized by a great hardness, refractability, and infusibility, which was shown to be a compound of carbon and silicon.[9] Since naturally occurring moissanite is so rare, lab-grown moissanite is the only commercially viable version of the mineral.

Maybe a ghetto concrete forged furnace could do this. Don't know though. It looks great though and would be worth something, it can cost as much as a real diamond apparently.

[nuclearrabbit]

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/1097/dscn0700ct5.jpg
:confused:

[RAOVQ]

just to add:

At my university we run a crystal growing competition for surrounding schools. They use copper sulfate and are given about ten weeks. Even so, we get some entries that are about the size of a fist. Ocassionally we run it with alum (clicky: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alum ). doping alum with certain elements can produce quite nice crystals, but they will again dissolve with a bit of effort. it might be worth making some and seeing if they are stable enough in handling and the like. they are dead easy to make.

[InspiredByMe]

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/1097/dscn0700ct5.jpg
:confused:

Yeah cuz I will sell a HE to a jeweler :rolleyes:

[stateofhack]

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/1097/dscn0700ct5.jpg
:confused:

Plug it :thumbsup:

[Leshrac]

just to add:

At my university we run a crystal growing competition for surrounding schools. They use copper sulfate and are given about ten weeks. Even so, we get some entries that are about the size of a fist. Ocassionally we run it with alum (clicky: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alum ). doping alum with certain elements can produce quite nice crystals, but they will again dissolve with a bit of effort. it might be worth making some and seeing if they are stable enough in handling and the like. they are dead easy to make.

Spraying them with a soft translucid latex ?

I mean it's sometimes used to protect paintings but...

[psyco_1322]

I tried growing some copper sulfate crystals the other day. That failed hard core. I just basically recrystallized my sulfate. I have recently came to own several pounds so I'm trying to do something cool with it. I didn't know about seed crystals, I knew you started it off something though. I tried a rock and wasn't too happy with it.

[Irukanji]

To grow a big crystal, you need to keep it hot(so everything stays in solution, and forms the crystal slowly, hence big crystals), the materials need to be super-pure almost(otherwise the crystals form on impurities, and you have a big crystal, made from lots of little ones and it ruins the look), and you may need a small seeder crystal, to give it something to form from. Use something like an incubator, and suspend the seed crystal in the solution inside something like an airtight jar(glass coffee jar might work, just give it a good wash).

http://www.crystalgrowing.com/index_e.htm

^looks very promising. Gives what the crystals are made from. He wants to sell the crystals, but meh. Just borrow his info and use it.

http://www.waynesthisandthat.com/crystals.htm

Sorry if it's already been sorted. Or if that link was posted.