Scientifically speaking, the term “crystal” refers to any solid that has an ordered chemical structure. This means that its parts are arranged in a precisely ordered pattern, like bricks in a wall.

Mesmerizing videos offer a new look at the ways crystals form. The real-time clips, described March 30 in Nature Nanotechnology, show closeup views of microscopic gold particles tumbling, sliding and ...

For the first time ever, researchers have watched the mesmerizing process of nanoparticles self-assembling into solid materials. In the stunning new videos, particles rain down, tumble along ...

Crystals might look simple, but their growth tells a far more complex and fascinating story. From grains of salt to diamonds, crystals form when particles lock into repeating patterns. For many years, ...

To make thin films for semiconductors in electronic devices, layers of atoms must be grown in neat, crystalline sheets. But while some materials grow smooth crystals, others tend to develop bumps and ...

Understanding crystals’ formation is important to the pharmaceutical and food industries, but it also elucidates the resilience of animals that make hard skeletons, including corals. This week at the ...

The regular granular table salt you’re used to isn’t the most attractive-looking seasoning out there, even given its fundamentally compelling flavor. You don’t have to settle for boring old salt ...

Space Crystals charges $150,000 to grow two crystals infused with a person's DNA in microgravity. One crystal is then returned to the customer and the other is sent to the moon in a Lunar Time Capsule ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Crystals are a vital part of our everyday lives. They fall from the sky as snowflakes. They flavor our food in the form of sugar and salt. They help drive technologies that range from ...