Instructions to make Rock Candy and Crystals

.

cleaned.

Creative Science Tutorial for Children at Home

(Parental Guidance is Advised)

Composed

By

HARRY KOCHAT

Drug Discovery & Development Operations
BioNumerik Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

 How to use these pages

This site is intended to be a resourceful warehouse with variety of projects to serve youngsters with creative minds towards scientific projects. It is a sort of warped semi-scientific cookbook of tricks, gimmicks, and pointless experimentation, concoctions, and devices, using, for the most part, things found around the house. You may appreciate your hidden creative talents if you happen to involve with these building blocks and consider yourself a better person for it once you learn it.

These are vintage projects, most of which appeared in many different books and publications from the 1930's through the 1960's or time and again I demonstrated to student groups actively involved in their gifted programs . They have for the most part been adapted for contemporary audiences. Most components are readily available; I have included these projects because they are part of the heritage of "Creative Science at Home".

PART 1

Crystals on a string

A variety of fairly common substances can be used to grow crystals, including:

Salt
Epsom salt
Sugar
Borax
Alum (aluminum potassium sulfate)
Photographer's hypo
Bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
Laundry soda
Copper sulfate

In a jar add to very hot water whichever substance you are working with until saturation is reached. Pour the solution off into a clean jar, leaving behind any undissolved substance.

Suspend a thin thread into the center of the jar. The thread can be tied to a pencil, Popsicle stick, or whatever is handy and will span the jar opening. Alternately, you can punch a hole in the lid of the jar, pass the thread through the hole, and then use a nail or pencil to hold the thread in place from the outside. If you are using the jar lid, screw it on, and stick a piece of masking tape over the hole. If you are not using the jar lid, tape a piece of paper over the mouth of the jar. This is to control the rate of evaporation.

Let sit, then after 15 minutes, swish the jar a bit. Swish it again 15 minutes later, then one final time an hour later. Set the jar where it won't be disturbed. Depending on the substance used, the crystals should begin to grow in an hour or so, and continue to grow for from a day to several days. Old-fashioned rock candy is grown using basically the same setup as above. Sugar is used for the solution, and the crystals are typically grown on a wooden stick rather than a thread.

Growing a single large salt crystal

With a little more effort it is possible to produce a single large symmetrical crystal. First fill a jar with hot water, and stir in as much salt as will dissolve. This is a supersaturated solution. Allow the excess salt to settle out, and pour the mixture into a saucer, leaving all of the undissolved salt behind. As the water cools, tiny crystals will begin to form on the bottom of the saucer. These are the "seed" crystals. Using a magnifying glass, pick out the largest perfectly formed crystal.

Hold on to any well shaped seed crystals in case your first attempt does not go well. Mix up another batch of hot supersaturated solution. Allow the undissolved salt to settle out as before, and pour off into a clean jar. You can use a coffee filter or clean napkin as a filter. Tie a thin thread to the seed crystal and hang it in the solution. Cover the jar with a piece of paper to slow evaporation. As the water evaporates over the course of several weeks, the salt will attach to the growing crystal. Remove any other crystals as they form. From time to time, you should add more cooled, supersaturated solution. Don't let the jar get too warm, as this may dissolve the crystal. Crystals formed this way tend to be very fragile, and of course will be dissolved by water. This can be tried with other substances, such as bicarbonate of soda, alum, copper sulfate, photographer's hypo, borax, laundry soda, etc.

Growing one big alum crystals

Heat one cup (250 ml) of water to boiling. Stir in about 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of alum until it dissolves. Pour the solution into a clean jar. Cover with plastic wrap or wax paper and set in a place where it will not be disturbed for several days. If the solution was pure enough, you should end up with a single large crystal.

Charcoal Crystal Garden

This is the classic way I demonstrated to a touring school group in my work place.

Materials you need

Charcoal briquettes (or brick pieces or small porous stones)

Water (pref. distilled)

Pie plate (non-metal)

Salt - not iodized

Ammonia

Bluing

Food coloring (optional)

Whack the charcoal into smallish bits (don't pulverize it - you want one inch (25 mm) or so chunks). Spray them with water until they are soaked. Put them in the pie plate, using enough for an even layer.

In a jar, mix

3 tablespoons (45 ml) ammonia

6 tablespoons (90 ml) bluing

3 tablespoons (45 ml) salt

Make sure it all dissolves. Dampen the charcoal with it. Add a little water to the jar - a couple of tablespoons (30 ml) - and swirl out the rest of the chemicals. Put this on the charcoal. Drop food coloring here and there (whatever isn't colored will be white). Sprinkle with a couple more tablespoons (30 ml) of salt. Set aside. On days 2 and 3, pour a mixture of ammonia, water, and bluing (2 tablespoons - 30 ml - each) in the bottom of the pan. Afterwards, leave it someplace where it won't get messed with (cat proof) until you have crystals (2 days to 2 weeks depending on climate). The crystals will be very fragile. Bluing isn't as easy to find as it once was. Check a grocery store in an older neighborhood, or in a smaller town. If you find powdered bluing instead of liquid bluing, it can be substituted if you mix it app. 1:1 with distilled water. Also, this project works well substituting bits of sponges for the charcoal briquettes.

Charcoal Crystal Garden, an alternate method

Put several pieces of charcoal briquettes in a bowl.

Mix:

1/4 cup (60 ml) water

1/4 cup (60 ml) laundry bluing

1/4 cup (60 ml) table salt

Tablespoon (15 ml) ammonia

Stir well and pour over the briquettes, making certain they are sticking up from the liquid. If you want, drop mercurochrome, colored inks, or food coloring here and there. Wait for the crystals to grow.

Salt Garden

Place pieces of charcoal, brick, or small porous stone in a dish. Stir salt into warm water until no more salt will dissolve. Add a spoonful of vinegar to the solution, and pour it over the charcoal or stones. The vinegar will degrease the stones, allowing capillary action to carry the salt water to the surface, where it evaporates, leaving salt crystals. Capillary action continues as long as there is solution remaining, which is carried up through the new crystals, building on top of them.

Acknowledgement: The Composer and the publisher sincerely thank the author, Mr.Brian Carusella for providing the allowance to utilize the essence of the aforestated scientific information: http://freeweb.pdq.net/headstrong/default.htmContents © 1998 Brian Carusella All original rights reserved

Hidden, Raw, Beautifully Rounded, Oily Feel ... What am I?

     The answer of course is diamonds.  You know, the ones that have yet to be discovered deep underground.  These precious gems can also be found laying right on top of the soil, having worked their way up to the surface.  Your chances of finding one this way increases at a place like Arkansas's Crater of Diamonds    They make sure to turn the soil ever-so-often to level the playing field.  I have also heard after a good rain is a good time to visit the park, too.

Diamonds in the Rough

     Visiting this park is definitely on my bucket list.  I have been trying to get someone to go there with me for quite sometime.  One of these days, with or without company, I'm going to go get me some of those diamonds.

  I have heard of some pretty good sized ones being found up to the present day.  Other gemstones are found at the Crater of Diamonds, too.  I know amethyst is one of them. Whatever you find they have experts on hand that will appraise your finds for free at the park. 


    Here's a link for a lil' learning about where to look for them and what they will look like when you do find them.   Ehow has numerous articles about this very subject.  Go check it out, come back here, leave a comment..and let me know what time you will be by to pick me up for our road trip.

Outstanding!

If we don't discover a diamond the first day after hours of digging and sifting in the dirt and hot sun.  (don't forget you hat) Don't get discouraged because they have all we will need to stay over and dig the next day.  Right!?!

Seriously it's a full blown attraction for the entire family.  The have campsites, air conditioned pavilions, a gift shop, a museum, a water park, a restaurant, laundry, fishing and more.  But I think you know where you will find me. Finding diamonds that's where!!!

The admission is reasonable.  Only $8 or something like that.  You can take your own tools or rent them there.  The rent prices are reasonable.  It's the refundable deposit that will kill ya.  You will for sure be taking there equipment back or you will be paying $100 for a very small shovel. 

Kids Pets are welcome if they are kept on a leash.
Discounts for large groups of 15 or more.  Wouldn't this have been a great field trip back in the day?

Like I said... I'll be waiting!

A Small Guide to Vintage Costume Jewelry

 

      The following two paragraphs were copied from the blog No Signposts in the Sea. A Small Guide to Vintage Costume Jewelry was written in 2011 and all the tips about vintage jewelry are relevant today.  If you are interested in buying vintage jewelry to wear or collect, this is a must read.  The post is packed full of useful information and written in a manner that everyone will understand.  The pictures are vivid and show excellent detail to go along with the information given.  Here are some links to the resources listed in the post.
  
  Illusion Jewels   Ruby Lane  Etsy   Ebay

     Sometimes valuable information is missed because we neglect to read the comments made to a post.  The following was copied from the comments section of  "A Small Guide to Vintage Costume Jewelry" and is the reply given by the host, aka The Waves.
  
  "You pretty much have to rely on small details. The overall style of the piece can give you some indication - large, rhinestone/crystal pieces were big in the 50s ad 60s, for example. Really simple and a little rougher looking brooch closures (just the pin and a simple hook) usually mean the piece is older, pre-1950s. Necklace clasps and clip earring closures are typically patented, so if there is a patent number on the clasp, you can google the number and you'll find when it was patented. The more complicated the necklace clasp, the more likely it is that the piece is old and of some value. Screw back earrings are always older than typical clip earrings.

Value is tough to estimate. When I find something interesting, I try to look for similar pieces on eBay, Etsy or Ruby Lane, and go with what they typically sell for. There are also a lot of costume jewelry books out there, but sometimes the value estimates are dated in those. Basically you need to do a lot of research! :)"

     This reply is dated April, 2013.  The last post on her blog is from 2014, but I hope this is just a break.  Maybe she would be willing to bring us up to date on her jewelry findings in a guest post on this blog.  Stay tuned.  The author goes by the name "The Waves."  Very cute theme and I am looking forward to reading more of her posts, No Signposts in the Sea.