Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object Name |
Sodium Chloride (salt) |
Description |
Salt Crystal. Irregularly shaped salt crystal of 99.5% pure sodium chloride. Crystal is constructed of stacked square and rectangular prisms, ranging in size from less than a millimeter to nearly three centimeters (just over an inch). The larger prisms are concentrated along a ridge that covers about a third of the crystal's surface area, while the rest of its surface is made up of smaller formations. Along one side are several beige spots, which are from brine shrimp. |
Date |
n.d. |
Catalog Number |
2018.014.001 |
Dimensions |
H-3.375 W-3.75 D-2.75 inches |
Dimension Details |
3.375 x 3.75 x 2.75 |
Collection |
3D - Geology |
Inscription Text |
none. |
Notes |
"Crystals grow because salt molecules in the solution meet up and interlock. As they do so, they fit together like puzzle pieces, arranging themselves in a lattice structure, thus creating a crystal nucleus. As more molecules find the nucleus and connect, the nucleus grows too large to remain in the solvent condition and falls out of the solution, eg. it crystallizes. Other molecules in the solution continue meeting up with the crystal and as they attach to it, the crystal grows. The salt crystal continues to grow until equilibrium between the molecules in the solution and those of the crystal is reached." [https://sciencing.com/salt-crystallize-5196567.html 06/11/2018] |
Search Terms |
Geology Salt San Francisco Bay |
Subjects |
Crystals Geology |
Credit line |
Courtesy of Cargill Salt |