Collisions

Monosodium glutamate forms countless shapes as it crystallizes, and shines in every color of the rainbow under polarized light. I’ve only seen these striking needle-like crystals grow in a supersaturated solution - water that has already dissolved the maximum amount of MSG. The branching patterns remind me of collisions in a particle accelerator and give me a new appreciation for the microscopic balance between chaos and order.

100⨉

Cross-polarized light

MSG Crystals