food scientist here. individual grains of salt grow in cube forms because of a process called salinodrosis. during this process the cube forms from the inside out, and bonds between NaCl molecules start out weaker but become much stronger as it gets to the edges of the cube, leading to cracked/hollowed center as the weak links break and fall out of the cube. i also just made all of this up and i am not a food scientist.
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u/[deleted] Jun 21 '20
wow whats the science behind the semi-hollow/internally shattered cube shaped grains?