Not the kind of crystal for faceting, but still so very cool!
"
Scientists at Harvard have coaxed microscopic crystal flowers to form in a beaker of fluid.
When one thinks of the word "crystal", you think, perhaps, of wedges of quartz stone, ice crystals and salt — not organic, flowing forms or flowers. But, by manipulating chemical gradients in a beaker of fluid, postdoctoral fellow Wim L, Noorduin at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences has managed to control the growth of barium carbonate crystals to form very controlled sculptures of flowers, with petals, stems and leaves."
Read the rest of the article here:
Tiny crystal flowers grow in a beaker!
