What is a Crystal?

What exactly is a Crystal?  

The answer might surprise you!

The term “crystal” means that the internal molecular structure (the atoms) is arranged in a very specific, orderly pattern, that repeats over and over.

For example, you may be familiar with the look of a Quartz crystal. Quartz is made of the elements silicon and oxygen—specifically as silicon dioxide (SiO2).

When these silicon dioxide molecules connect with each other, they end up connecting in a specific way that forms a pattern. That pattern results in the formation that we recognize as a quartz crystal.

Many minerals form naturally as crystals—and in a variety of crystal structures! Diamonds commonly occur as octahedrons; fluorites can appear in several forms like tetrahexahedrons or rhombic dodecahedrons; and calcite in several crystal habits like prismatic, rhombohedral and scalenohedral.

But let’s leave discussions of crystal habits for another day, as that could be a long post in itself!