Question: What are crystals made of?

Lynne Thomas answered on 23 Jun 2014:

Almost anything that is a solid is a crystal. From the salt and sugar in your kitchen through to the battery in your mobile phone or the paracetamol or aspirin that you take for a headache. A crystal is made up of atoms and molecules which are arranged in a very regular three dimensional grid. The shape of a crystal reflects this grid, some crystals are block shaped like sugar, and salt, others are flatter and some make hexagon shapes like quartz! Atoms and molecules are too small to be able to see with they eye or even the most powerful optical microscope in the world and so looking at a crystal is the closest you will ever come to seeing atoms and molecules with your eyes!