| Term: | Crystal |
| Definition: | A solid body whose atoms or molecules have a regularly repeated arrangement called crystal lattice. The latter may be outwardly expressed by plane faces (see crystal facet). Single crystals grow from a single nucleus (see also grain). Skeleton type or hopper crystals grow faster along their edges than in the centres of their faces, so that the faces appear to be recessed. This type of skeletal recrystallization usually determines the morphology of depth hoar crystals. |