One of the staples of kitchen chemistry for kids is making sugar crystals or rock candy. Why not? It is educational and it tastes good, too. [Science with Screens] has a different kind of crystal in mind: copper crystals. You can see the result in the video below.
To grow pure metal crystals, he used copper wire and copper sulfate. He also used a special regulated power supply to create a low voltage to control the current used to form the crystal. The current needed to be no more than 10mA, and an LM317 holds the voltage constant. However, that regulator only goes as low as 1.25V, so diodes cut a volt off the output.
It took six weeks to grow the crystal. It looked great until exposed to air. To restore the shine, he dipped the crystal in vinegar and then sealed the crystal in mineral oil.
This isn’t the first time we’ve looked at crystal growth. We’ve looked at other copper science that doesn’t involve crystals, too.
Thanks to [David] for the tip.
Filed under: chemistry hacks
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