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Related Concept Videos

Crystal Growth: Principles of Crystallization01:25

Crystal Growth: Principles of Crystallization

Crystallization is a phase transformation process in which crystals are precipitated from a supersaturated solution or formed from other sources. During crystallization, atoms or molecules arrange themselves into a well-defined, rigid crystal lattice to minimize energy.
Initiating crystallization involves manipulating the concentration of the solute and the temperature of the solution. Since crystal growth occurs when the ratio of concentration and solubility of the solute in the solvent – the...
Recrystallization: Solid–Solution Equilibria01:10

Recrystallization: Solid–Solution Equilibria

Recrystallization is a purification technique used to separate impurities from solid compounds. In this technique, no chemical reactions occur. Instead, it exploits physical properties only, specifically, the solubility differences between the desired compound and impurities, either at a single temperature or at different temperatures, and under other selected conditions. The solid-solution equilibrium (solubility equilibrium) of each component in the solution represents a binary phase...
Crystal Density01:19

Crystal Density

The crystal lattice structure of a material allows us to determine how many molecules exist in its unit cell. With this information, alongside the unit-cell parameters - three distance parameters (a, b, c) and three angular parameters (α, β, γ).Density (ρ) = (Z × M) / (a × b × c × NA)where:Z is the number of formula units per unit cellM is the molar mass of the substancea, b, and c are the edge lengths of the unit cellNA is Avogadro’s numberFor a simple cubic lattice, atoms are located only at...
Solution Equilibrium and Saturation01:59

Solution Equilibrium and Saturation

Imagine adding a small amount of sugar to a glass of water, stirring until all the sugar has dissolved, and then adding a bit more. You can repeat this process until the sugar concentration of the solution reaches its natural limit, a limit determined primarily by the relative strengths of the solute-solute, solute-solvent, and solvent-solvent attractive forces. You can be certain that you have reached this limit because, no matter how long you stir the solution, undissolved sugar remains. The...
Designing Growth Media for Bioreactors01:30

Designing Growth Media for Bioreactors

Growth media provide essential nutrients that support cell growth and metabolism, thereby enhancing the yield of valuable products such as enzymes, antibiotics, and biomass. Designing an effective growth medium involves balancing all components to prevent nutrient limitations or toxic excesses, both of which can impair growth and reduce product yields.Composition of a Typical Growth MediumA typical growth medium contains carbon and nitrogen sources, salts, vitamins, trace elements, and...
Cell Culture01:21

Cell Culture

Most vertebrate cells grow in vitro attached to a substrate as a monolayer, called adherent cultures. The flasks and plates used to grow cells are chemically treated to facilitate cell attachment. However, a few cell types, such as hematopoietic cells, can grow in a suspension. In contrast to adherent cultures, suspension cultures can grow in non-treated cultureware using magnetic stirrers or spinner flasks to agitate the culture media

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Updated: May 22, 2026

Optimization of Crystal Growth for Neutron Macromolecular Crystallography
12:29

Optimization of Crystal Growth for Neutron Macromolecular Crystallography

Published on: March 13, 2021

Crystal growth as an excitable medium.

Julyan H E Cartwright1, Antonio G Checa, Bruno Escribano

  • 1Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra, CSIC, Universidad de Granada, Campus Fuentenueva, 18071 Granada, Spain.

Philosophical Transactions. Series A, Mathematical, Physical, and Engineering Sciences
|May 23, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Crystal growth patterns, like spirals, are explained by excitable medium physics. This framework unifies crystal growth and biological materials like nacre, offering new insights for both fields.

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Optimization of Crystal Growth for Neutron Macromolecular Crystallography
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Area of Science:

  • Physics
  • Materials Science
  • Crystallography

Background:

  • Spirals and target patterns are common in crystal growth, explained by defects and nucleation.
  • Similar patterns exist in physical systems known as excitable media.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To demonstrate the connection between crystal growth physics and excitable media.
  • To explore the applicability of this unified framework to materials like nacre.

Main Methods:

  • Modeling crystal growth within the framework of excitable media.
  • Analyzing pattern formation in both solid crystals and biological materials.

Main Results:

  • Crystal growth phenomena can be accurately described using excitable medium theory.
  • The model successfully applies to the layer growth of nacre, a biological liquid crystal.

Conclusions:

  • The physics of crystal growth and excitable media are fundamentally linked.
  • This unified perspective offers novel approaches for studying crystal formation and biomaterials.