IMMORTALITY OF CRYSTALS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 61, 9 November 1907, Page 6

IMMORTALITY OF CRYSTALS.

One of the most interesting lectures delivered during the meetings; of tke British Association was (says, Public Op'niou) that in which Professor Jliers dealt with "The Growth of a Crystal." Professor Miers pointed (•ut that a great many familiar things were actually made up wholly or in part, of crystals, as, for example, mir,trals and precious stones, rocks, such as granite, basalt, and marble, and metals, such as iron und steel. Theprinciples of crystallation that w,i studied here prevailed also in distant parts of space, for the crystalline structure of -neks and metals was to be seen in tho meteorites that fell upon the earth from the sky; and the same principles had prevailed in remote past time, for many of the crystalline rocks were ve>y ancient. "The most wonderful feature of crystals was tin; manner in which they crew, just as though they were living things. Two features deserved special attention Th<; first was the remarkable power crystals possessed of healing themselves when mutilated. If 4 growing crystal were removed from a soluticn, broken at one of its corners, wid reimmerscd in the solution, u | would continue to grow, aud as it grew would restore the missing part, and become once more a completely symmetrical figuro. This power i,f continuing to grow was possessed by a crystal even after countless ages, so soon as it was immersed into the appropriate solution. In this sense tincrystal was immortal, for it never lost its vitality or power of growing. ' The other remarkable feature was the growth of crystals in over-saturat-ed solutions. In solutions only slightly over-saturated, no spontaneous generation of crystals was possible, h was true that a solution only slightly ever-saturated would often l>egin to crystallise, apparently spontaneously, when exposed to the air, but this was because there were minute crystal fragments of tho dissolved substance floating about in the air, which got into the solution with the dust, and so inoculated th-i solution with crystal germs, just as the human body might be inc ciliated with disease by a disease germ. If these germs were kept out, the solution would not crystallisa until it was very strongly oversaturated. and then, at a certain strength, it would suddenly begin r? crystallise spontaneously, and with great rapidity. In conclusion, Professor Miers stated that so little had been done in the systematic watching of crystals as they grew that interesting discoveries might be made by anvcne who would take up their studv, even without previous knowledge or experience.''