A very small crystal, especially a microscopic crystal that forms part of a polycrystalline material like metal or ceramics.
From crystal + -lite (Greek -litos meaning stone). Emerged in materials science in the 1900s to describe the tiny crystal grains that form metal structures.
Steel is actually billions of crystallites—tiny crystals jammed together. When a blacksmith heats and hammers steel, they're reorganizing these crystallites to make it stronger!
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