Crystal

Crystal

A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an ordered pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. In addition to their microscopic structure, large crystals are usually identifiable by their macroscopic geometrical shape, consisting of flat faces with specific, characteristic orientations.

Read more about Crystal.

Famous quotes containing the word crystal:

    If Los Angeles has been called “the capital of crackpots” and “the metropolis of isms,” the native Angeleno can not fairly attribute all of the city’s idiosyncrasies to the newcomer—at least not so long as he consults the crystal ball for guidance in his business dealings and his wife goes shopping downtown in beach pajamas.
    —For the State of California, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)

    While that the sun with his beams hot
    Scorched the fruits in vale and mountain,
    Philon the shepherd, late forgot,
    Sitting beside a crystal fountain,
    Unknown. The Unfaithful Shepherdess (l. 1–4)

    Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
    Sailed off in a wooden shoe—
    Sailed on a river of crystal light,
    Into a sea of dew.
    Eugene Field (1850–1895)