References on metal crystals =========== In (1), just look at the paragraph I quoted. In (2), just scan the pictures. Item (3) is a very good read, I recommend it. Not very long, mostly pictures, and doesn't get too deep in tech terms. (4) is an ad to buy their "monocrystalline silver cable"! And finally, there is a wikipedia article which covers all of this in way too much detail, but is a good second source. =========== 1) ALL metals are crystals! See: https://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/amat/iss/kap_4/backbone/r4_1_2.html Scroll down to the green box that says "Almost everything that is not somehow related to biology is a crystal." Note, two points later, "every metal [in red] is a crystal. So how come nobody noticed this? Because the overwhelming majority of natural crystals are not showy single crystals with an easily recognizable "crystal" shape, but poly crystals, an agglomeration of small crystals." Scroll down a bit more to see the two large blue graphics. The top is all crystal, the bottom shows grains. Technically each "domain" or "grain" is a separate crystal. When you see beautiful giant crystals from rock collectors, you are seeing single crystals. See pictures in next reference. =========== 2) See pictures of metal crystals here: https://www.thoughtco.com/metal-crystals-photo-gallery-4054187 Note the comment on Gallium: "Gallium is an element with a low melting point. In fact, you can melt a piece of gallium in your hand. If the specimen is sufficiently pure, it will crystallize as it cools." One way to make crystals is very slow cooling without shaking. Kids can make beautiful salt crystals by dissolving a excess of salt in boiling water, then letting it cool slowly and without shaking. =========== 3) Here is a good in-depth overview of metallic crystal structure. https://depts.washington.edu/matseed/mse_resources/Webpage/Metals/metalstructure.htm This one is worth a good "skim". Not too long and not too many technical terms (if you skip over them!). =========== 4) Finally, here is an Audiophile company describing their wonderful "Monocrystalline Silver Cable". See: http://shop.bmc-audio.de/product_info.php?products_id=10 Only about $1,600 Euros for a 1 meter stereo pair! They claim: "Profound transparency combined with perfect balance allows music to breathe." This alleged superiority of monocrystalline silver cables is very controversial. If there is a difference, almost no-one can hear it. There have been human tests with very slightly positive results, but many are doubtful. However, when you are a semi-rich Audiophile like I was in the mid 80's, why take chances with "inferior" cables! You can objectively measure resistance differences. The grain boundaries do increase the resistance, that is scientific fact. Thus, fewer or no grain boundaries is good. As to whether the lowered resistance is audible to human ears, that's a tough sell. I dare say that most people would call this a bunch of bunk! =========== Silicon chips, by the way, are always made of a single gigantic crystal of silicon. Here is a picture of a single crystals of silicon about as big as a man: ! https://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/amat/iss/kap_5/illustr/i5_3_1.html This is a miracle of science, IMHO. They are specially "grown" and cut and polished into what you see. (Like diamonds, which can look very irregular in the raw, but then are cut by jewelers into what we think of as diamond shapes!) There is one in the lobby of a local company I have visited a number of times, and you can touch it and be amazed at how beautiful it is! They are highly polished and cut into thin slices like vinyl records. These are called "wafers" and on a 12 inch wafer you can photo-etch anywhere from 20 or so huge circuits to several hundred small ones. These are then cut apart like a sheet of postage stamps and mounted in plastic and connected to pins and voila', chips! ============ Good article covering almost all of the above in way too much detail: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wafer_(electronics) Note the very last picture there, the green "Wafermap", showing maybe 200 square "dies". Each of those will become one "chip".