Growing a population of small crystals from solution is an important process for several industries, particularly those engaged in the production of photographic, agricultural and pharmaceutical chemicals. The properties that need to be controlled range from the shape and type of individual crystals to the distribution of sizes in the final population. All of the properties are determined, at least in part, by the availability of the crystal constituents in the surrounding solution.

In this activity, we will concentrate on the distribution of crystal sizes in the population. Two processes are important in determining the distribution: nucleation, the creation of new crystals, and growth, the addition of material to existing crystals.

We will developing numerical simulations that predict the evolution of the crystal population.