Nucleation and Growth of Halite

The movie clip to the left shows a NaCl-H2O solution undergoing evaporation. Halite nucleates and grows into clusters of cubic crystals. Note the crystals are euhedral at the beginning (unobstructed growth) and anhedral at the end (obstructed growth). Note: the texture of the halite at the beginning and end of crystallization is similar to crystallization of igneous minerals in magma.

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Page Created: Sept, 1998; Last modified: Aug, 2007