A crystal is a solid in which the constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are packed in a regularly ordered, repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. Generally, fluid substances form crystals when they undergo a process of solidification. Under ideal conditions, the result may be a single crystal, where all of the atoms in the solid fit into the same lattice or crystal structure but, generally, many crystals form simultaneously during solidification, leading to a polycrystalline solid. For example, most metals encountered in everyday life are polycrystals. Crystals are often s ...

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• Crystal - Historical and mythical uses

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Crystals: A crystal is a solid material with a regular internal arrangement of atoms. Because of this orderly composition, it may form the smooth external surfaces called faces that allow us to see into the crystal when it is clear. Most all stones are made in part of silica. The presence of this silica is what gives crystals their luminosity and crystal clearness. Crystal is brittle—as we are—and as such is a reflection of ourselves. As we shatter our being, it is seen to be rigid and crystalline in structure. Crystals are described as being clear, milky, having rainbow prisms within, or having fractures visible along their length.

(See also: Crystals, Magic, Shamanism, Paganism, Wicca)

Crystals, Crystallization The formation of crystals shows the working of intelligent life forces in the mineral world. The shapes of crystals show, in their harmony and proportion, the mathematical and geometrical principles permeant throughout the universe.

A solution of salt, when evaporated, first crystallizes in triangular shapes and ultimately builds up cubes, both of which are symbolical figures of fundamental importance; and salt is a well-known alchemical symbol of the element of earth, also denoted by the cubical shape. Every salt has a particular form in which it crystallizes, or has perhaps two different forms; but different salts may have the same crystalline form.

Snow crystals show the hexagonal patterns which display the septenate -- a center from which six radii proceed. Cubic, tetragonal, hexagonal, and octagonal shapes occur; but the fivefold forms of the regular dodecahedron and icosahedron are not found. Clairvoyant sensitives see light emanating from crystals, and luminous phenomena are often seen at the formation or disruption of crystals. Blavatsky alludes to the idea that the process of crystallization might be a step in the evolution of the minerals to the next higher kingdom.

(See also: Crystals, Crystallization, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Crystal twinning occurs when two separate crystals share some of the same crystal lattice points in a symmetrical manner. The result is an intergrowth of two separate crystals in a variety of specific configurations. A twin boundary or composition surface separates the two crystals. Crystallographers classify twinned crystals by a number of twin laws. These twin laws are specific to the crystal system. The type of twinn ...

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• Crystal twinning - Reference

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Quartz crystals are God's gift to the earth, and a rare treasure to those who embrace their light. A crystal connection will alter your vision and ease you into a greater understanding of your Self. Crystals are found in watches, clocks, televisions, VCRs, and computers, and these are just a few of their applications. Quartz holds raw piezoelectric energy, and when shaven down to micro chip size produces electricity that operates these necessities in our lives. Imagine the personal power we can claim when we harness that energy and allow the gentle electrical vibrations of crystals and gemstones to balance and work with the flow of our own unique energy.

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Crystallization is essentially a solid-liquid separation technique. It is nothing but the process of formation of solid crystals from a homogeneous solution. For crystallization to occur the solution at hand ought to be supersaturated. Put simply, the solution should contain more solute molecules than it would under ordinary conditions. This can be achieved by various methods -- solvent evaporation, cooling, chemical reaction, 'd ...

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In mineralogy and crystallography, a crystal structure is a unique arrangement of atoms in a crystal. A crystal structure is composed of a unit cell, a set of atoms arranged in a particular way; which is periodically repeated in three dimensions on a lattice. The spacing between unit cells in various directions are called its lattice parameters. The symmetry properties of the crystal are embodied in its space group. A crystal's structure and symmetry play a role in determining many of its properties, such as cleavage, el ...

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• Crystal structure - Unit cell
• Crystal structure - Crystal system
• Crystal structure - Classification of lattices
• Crystal structure - Point and space groups
• Crystal structure - Defects in crystals
• Crystal structure - Crystal symmetry

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Water of crystallization is water that is tightly associated with crystalline metal salts, and remains after drying in a fixed proportion to the salt. Water of crystallization can frequently be removed (dehydration of the salt) by heating the salt far above room temperature, for example by heating in a crucible over a bunsen burner. A salt with associated water of crystallization is known as a hydrated salt; salts without water of crystallization are called anhydrous salts. The structure of these hydrates can be quite elaborate ...

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Crystal power is a belief that crystals have healing, mystical and paranormal powers. It is popular in the New Age movement, but regarded as baseless by skeptics and the general scientific community. Crystal power - Crystal healing. Crystal healers claim that every living organism has a "vibrational energy system," which includes chakras, subtle bodies and meridians. By using the appropriate crystals one can allegedly "tune" an energy system or rebalance energies, thus improving well-being. T ...

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• Crystal power - Crystal healing
• Crystal power - Criticism

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A boule is a term used to describe a single crystal ingot produced by synthetic means. In the semiconductor industry they can be made by a number of methods, such as the Bridgeman technique, or Czochralski process. A cylindrical rod is produced. A semiconductor crystal boule is normally cut into circular wafers. Each wafer is polished to give substrates suitable for semiconductor devices to be fabricated on. Other related archivesBridgeman technique, Czochralski process, ingot, semicon

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This page is about the fortune-telling object. For the album Crystal Ball by Prince, see Crystal Ball (Prince). For the Styx album, see Crystal Ball (album). For the probability distribution function used in physics, see Crystal Ball function. A crystal ball is a crystal or glass ball believed to aid clairvoyance. It is sometimes known as a shew stone. Crystal ball - History. Celtic tribes, known to exist in Britain as early as 2,000 B.C., were unified by a priesthood know ...

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• Crystal ball - History
• Crystal ball - Art of scrying
• Crystal ball - Crystal balls in protoscience
• Crystal ball - Crystal ball as software

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Crystal Singer (1982) is the first book in the Crystal Singer series by Anne McCaffrey. The author's notes from Crystal Singer explain the story is based on four stories that were originally published in Roger Elwood's Continuum series. The 1982 version is expanded from these stories. Crystal Singer is about the trials and tribulations of Killashandra Ree in becoming a crystal singer on the planet Ballybran. Crystal Singer - Plot. Killashandra has trained all her life to ...

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In mineralogy, shape and size give rise to descriptive terms applied to the typical appearance, or habit of crystals. The many terms used by mineralogists to describe crystal habits are useful in communicating what specimens of a particular mineral often look like. Recognising numerous habits helps a mineralogist to identify a large number of minerals. Some habits are distinctive of certain minerals, although most minerals exhibit many differing habits which are influenced by certain factors. Crystal habit may mislead the inexperienced as a ...

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• Crystal habit - List of crystal habits

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A crystal oscillator (sometimes abbreviated to XTAL on schematic diagrams) is an electronic circuit that uses the mechanical resonance of a physical crystal of piezoelectric material along with an amplifier and feedback to create an electrical signal with a very precise frequency. It is an especially accurate form of an electronic oscillator. This frequency is used to keep track of time (as in quartz wristwatches), to provide a stable clock signal for digital integrated circuits, and to stabilize frequencies for radio transmitt ...

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• Crystal oscillator - Crystals for timing purposes
• Crystal oscillator - Crystals and frequency
• Crystal oscillator - Series or parallel resonance
• Crystal oscillator - Spurious frequencies
• Crystal oscillator - Notation

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Crystal optics is the branch of optics that describes the behaviour of light in anisotropic media, that is, media (such as crystals) in which light behaves differently depending on which direction the light is propagating. Crystals are often naturally anisotropic, and in some media (such as liquid crystals) it is possible to induce anisotropy by applying e.g. an external electric field. Crystal optics - Isotropic media. Typical transparent media such as glasses are isotropic, which means that ...

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• Crystal optics - Isotropic media
• Crystal optics - Electric susceptibility
• Crystal optics - Anisotropic media
• Crystal optics - Other effects

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Billy Crystal (born March 14, 1947) is an American actor, writer, producer, and film director. He is 5' 6". Crystal was born in Long Beach, New York to Jewish-American parents Jack and Helen Crystal. His father worked at, and later managed, the Commodore Music Shop. His uncle was record producer Milt Gabler. He went to Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia on a baseball scholarship, having learned the game from his father, who pitched for St. John's University. Crystal, however never played a game at Marshall because ...

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• Billy Crystal - Career
• Billy Crystal - Filmography
• Billy Crystal - External link

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The Crystal Cathedral campus is a Christian megachurch in the city of Garden Grove, within Orange County in Southern California. The Center was founded in 1980 by Rev. Robert H. Schuller and his wife, Arvella on the campus of what was known until that time as Garden Grove Community Church. The church's mission statement is, "Find a need and fill it, find a hurt and heal it." The church is known for its world-famous architecture by Philip Johnson, most prominently the main sanctuary building which was c ...

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Crystal Gayle (born January 9, 1951) is an American country and western singer. She is also the sister of singer Loretta Lynn and cousin of singer Patty Loveless. Born Brenda Gail Webb in Paintsville, Kentucky, Gayle began performing and recording during the early 1970s. Her fourth album, We Must Believe in Magic (released in 1977) brought her to a wide audience. Fuelled by the worldwide hit single Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue, which reached number One on not only the Country Music, but also the ...

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Crystal is a form of glass with a high degree of transparency that usually consists of a high proportion of lead oxide. It is traditionally hand-blown. Crystal is "brilliant" because the increased refractive index causes noticeably more "sparkles". Despite its name, "crystal" is actually an amorphous solid like any other glass, not a crystal. See also. Lead glass Waterford Crystal Swarovski ...

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Cleavage, in mineralogy, is the tendency of crystalline materials to split along definite planes, creating smooth surfaces, of which there are several named types: Basal cleavage: cleavage parallel to the base of a crystal, or to the plane of the lateral axes. This occurs quite easily in graphite, making the material feel slippery. Cubic cleavage: cleavage parallel to the faces of a cube. This is the source of the cubic shape seen in crystals of ground table salt (sodium chloride). ...

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