Colorvir scanning electron micrograph (SEM - turquoise tint) of cubic crystals of BDH Analar (analytical reagent) sodium chloride (NaCl), or pure common salt, carefully grown by recrystallisation from a solution of NaCl in distilled water. The cubic crystal consists of an ionic lattice of Sodium (Na) and Chlorine (Cl) ions, where the repeating units of the lattice are positively & negatively charged respectively. Ionic crystals tend to be hard & brittle, due to the strong electrostatic forces between the constitutent ions. Magnification: X200 at 10x8inch size, X29 at 35mm size, X55 at 6x7cm size.