4. General conclusions

The overview we have just given of the crystallization of simple bodies and molecules, and of its consequences in terms of polymorphism and crystal growth, has shown just how vast an area of application this physical phenomenon covers. To understand and master it, we need to call on various branches of physics. One of the main directions of research in this field concerns the role of additives. In fact, the ideal situation would be to be able to voluntarily direct the crystallization of an entity towards a given crystalline form and facies (tayloring of crystal growth).

Today, a great deal of work is being carried out in this direction [70] . They all stem from man's ongoing quest to control events that may seem a priori to be totally random, but which may well be the result of physical laws that...