Providing the first comprehensive overview of the method of crystal growth in gels, Professor Henisch reviews the field, covering the underlying physics as well as the empirical experience of growth techniques accumulated over the past century. In addition, the book discusses the phenomenon of periodic precipitation, which often governs the distribution of crystal in laboratory growth systems. For the first time, computer techniques are brought to bear on the subject, the diffusion equations being solved numerically, in association with the conditions governing precipitations and crystal growth.