Sphatika in Hinduism is a solid in which all atoms and molecules are arranged in an orderly pattern. These solids have their characteristic regular shapes. Every sphatika is made up of regularly shaped, small units known as the unit cell of that sphatika. Multiplication of such unit cells in space produces a three-dimensional sphatika. The word sphatika refers to crystal in the language of science. Most substances are made up of crystals. Common salt, sugar and diamonds are the well-known examples of a crystal. Metals are crystalline in nature.
The process of formation of a crystal (sphatika) from non-living matter is called crystallization (sphatikikarana). When the vapors of such materials are allowed to cool, the atoms come closer and join each other in some regular and periodic manner, constituting the crystal. During this process, energy is released, and the product at the end of the process, energy is released, and the product at the end of the process, i.e., crystal, is more stable than the matter at the non-crystal state.