![Travis Olds with light and mineral](https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/902/2020/01/2020spring-stones-unturned-thumb-198x198.jpg)
Crystals
![Travis Olds with light and mineral](https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/902/2020/01/2020spring-stones-unturned-thumb-198x198.jpg)
Paths that grew crystal clear
Crystals reflect the best of nature’s handiwork. With their atoms aligned in repeating 3D patterns, crystals can be as momentary as a snowflake or as common as the sodium chloride in table salt. They can sparkle on a finger, scatter rainbows across the room, or be grown on your kitchen table with a few ingredients from the hobby shop.
Some also possess unusual properties, such as quartz crystal’s ability to generate a tiny electrical current when pressure is applied. Known as the piezoelectric effect, this useful phenomenon helped inspire the rise of a global, multibillion dollar crystal growth industry.
Today, manmade crystals power an astonishing … » More …
![36764891 - color bismuth crystal isolated on the white background](https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/902/2017/01/2017spring-crystal-gallery-thumb-198x198.jpg)
Gallery: Crystals at WSU
Read about crystal making at Washington State, and the scientists who make them, in “Paths that grew crystal clear.”