Chemical Crystals
Chemical compounds can exist in three basic phases: gaseous, liquid, or solid. In gaseous form, chemicals are comprised of weakly bonded atoms that are able to expand to fill any available space. Liquids, however, are slightly more structured than gases, the component parts that comprise them moving freely among themselves, but tending not to disperse and separate from one another. Solid compounds, which exhibit strong atomic bonding, are the most structured type of chemicals, featuring a rigid shape and a definite volume. Furthermore, many solids exist naturally as crystals, their atoms displaying distinct three-dimensional geometrical patterns. Advances in science and technology have also made it possible to create a tremendous array of artificial crystals in the laboratory, a feat that has many important commercial and industrial applications
