crystalized

Crystalized, also spelled crystallized, is an adjective used to describe a substance that has formed crystals or has been converted into a crystalline state. The term appears in chemistry, geology, materials science, food science, and biology, and in everyday language to denote something that is clear, well-defined, or refined.

Crystallization is the process by which a solid with a highly ordered internal structure forms from a more disordered phase—usually a solution, a melt, or a vapor. It often begins with nucleation, the spontaneous formation of a small, stable cluster of molecules, followed by crystal growth as additional units are organized in a repeating lattice. Factors such as supersaturation, temperature, pressure, solvent choice, and impurities influence rate and crystal habit. Crystallization can occur through evaporation (from a saturated solution), cooling (from a melt), or precipitation from a solution or gas.

Common examples include formation of salt crystals from evaporating seawater, growth of sugar crystals from supersaturated syrups, and mineral or gemstone crystallization in geology. In pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing, crystallization is used to purify compounds and control particle size and polymorphism. In biology, crystallization techniques enable structural studies of macromolecules through X-ray crystallography.

In nontechnical uses, crystalized may describe something that has become clear, definite, or well organized, sometimes metaphorically, as in plans or theories achieving a crystallized form of structure.