microcrystalline
Minutely crystalline structure
Microcrystalline describes a substance composed of crystals too small to be seen with the naked eye but detectable under magnification.
The term appears in materials science, geology, and product labeling: microcrystalline wax, microcrystalline cellulose.
Microcrystalline structures differ from amorphous materials, which lack any crystalline order, and from visibly crystalline substances like quartz or table salt.
Translucent microcrystalline silica variety
- agateBanded semiprecious stone
- jasperOpaque colored quartz
- chertFine-grained siliceous stone
- flintSpark-producing sedimentary rock
quartz · silica · calcite · gypsum · aragonite · dolomite · wax · cellulose
Microscopic ordered solid region
- polycrystallineHaving many crystal grains
- latticeOpenwork of crossed strips
- nucleationInitial cluster formation
- solidificationTransition to firm state
annealing · interlocking · aggregate · matrix · morphology · crystallography · isotropic · anisotropy
chalcedony
Translucent microcrystalline silica variety
flint · quartz · silica · calcite · gypsum · aragonite · dolomite · wax · cellulose · zeolite
crystallite
Microscopic ordered solid region
- polycrystallineHaving many crystal grains
- latticeOpenwork of crossed strips
- nucleationInitial cluster formation
solidification · annealing · interlocking · aggregate · matrix · morphology · crystallography · isotropic · anisotropy · homogeneity
translucent
Permitting diffused light passage
waxy · vitreous · frosted · lustrous · smooth · uniform · dense · compact · fine-grained · homogeneous
- microcrystalline waxPetroleum-derived wax, fine structure