Dendritic Growth of Crystals Flashcards
When are crystal structures formed?
They’re formed when metals cool from liquid to solid.
what forms when metals cool from liquid to solid?
Crystal structures
What is important to note about the cooling of metals from liquid to solid in terms of the crystal structures?
The entire piece of metal does not turn into one homogeneous crystal structure.
What first begins to form during the different rates of cooling of metals from liquid to solid?
Lots of tiny crystals (nucleate) as different parts of the liquid cool at different rates.
How do the tiny crystals (nucleate) grow as the metal cools?
They grow by dendritic growth - in a tree-like pattern, similar to a snowflake
what happens when dendrite braches meet up?
They meet up to form grains, which are single individual crystals.
what are ‘grains’ in dendritic growth?
They are single individual crystals formed when dendrite branches meet
What type of structures do metals have as a result of dendritic growth?
Metals are polycrystalline structures, composed of multiple crystals called grains.
List all 5 stages of dendritic growth briefly.
Atoms cool and bond together. Dendrite nuclei
More atoms attach and the particle starts to “grow”
The dendrite grows in a “tree-like formation”
Dendrites continue to grow until all liquid turns into solid
Under a microscope, the grain boundaries can be seen.
What is dendritic growth?
As a metal reaches its cooling point, small amounts of atoms cool first.
The atoms join together to make a repeated pattern (crystal lattice structure).
Each small particle grows to form a crystal or a grain. Crystals grow together to form a solid.
This process is known as dendritic growth from the Greek word “dendron” for treelike.
