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How Crystals Work - TedEd

Below are supplemental materials to my TED-Ed lesson on how crystals work. These materials are useful for elementary to university level science education.

The movies show the growth of various crystals from an evaporating solution. Solutions are saturated with NaCl (halite or table salt), KCl (sylvite, or “salt substitute” found at the grocery store), or sucrose (table sugar) solutions, or a mixture of these solutions.

There is a progression of topics presented, so it is suggested the topics are viewed in the order presented below.

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Graham Baird

Meet the Author

 Dr. Graham B. Baird is a Professor of Geology in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Northern Colorado. 

Dr. Baird teaches classes in, for example, Structural Geology, Ore Geology, and Tectonics.  Dr. Baird also researches various aspects of plate tectonics and is currently studying mountain belts in the Adirondacks (northern New York State), the Front Range of Colorado, and northern Sweden.  

Learn more about Dr. Baird