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Self-Assembly in Crystals

In this activity, learners explore self-assembly through an interactive demonstration on crystallization.

DESCRIPTION

In this activity, visitors watch as a crystal self-assembles instantly! During this activity visitors learn what crystals are and how they grow. They also discover that self-assembly is an important process for many naturally occurring systems.

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  • A beaker after crystallization demonstration
  • A beaker after crystallization demonstration

DESCRIPTION

In this activity, visitors watch as a crystal self-assembles instantly! During this activity visitors learn what crystals are and how they grow. They also discover that self-assembly is an important process for many naturally occurring systems.

JUMP TO BROWSE RELATED RESOURCES

OBJECTIVES

BIG IDEA

In this activity, visitors learn that crystals are formed from repeating units and that crystal formation is a type of self-assembly. Visitors also discover that behaviors at the atomic and the molecular scales can result in macroscale structures that are visible to the human eye.

LEARNING GOALS

  • What self-assembly is

  • What crystals are

  • That crystal formation is due to the self-assembly of atoms and molecules

  • That super-saturated solutions can form crystals

  • That some reactions produce heat (some reactions are exothermic)

  • That using super-cooled solutions can speed up crystal formation

NANO CONTENT MAP

Nanometer-sized things are very small, and often behave differently than larger things do.

Scientists and engineers have formed the interdisciplinary field of nanotechnology by investigating properties and manipulating matter at the nanoscale.

Credits

YEAR CREATED
2012
OWNING INSTITUTION

Lawrence Hall of Science

FUNDING

Developed for the NISE Network with funding from the National Science Foundation under Award Numbers 0532536 and 0940143. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this product are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation.

PERMISSIONS

Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike 3.0 United States (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US).
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DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

NISE Network products are developed through an iterative collaborative process that includes scientific review, peer review, and visitor evaluation in accordance with an inclusive audiences approach. Products are designed to be easily edited and adapted for different audiences under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike license. To learn more, visit our Development Process page.