Hydration hardening gypsum crystals

Plaster of Paris has long been used as a casting material, a cement, and a mortar. If mixed with water, plaster of Paris forms a very soft and pliable mixture. After a very short time, lasting only 5-8 minutes, the wet, pliable mixture sets, that is, it hardens into a stable, firm solid. The setting process entails the incorporation of water molecules (a process known as hydration) into the calcium sulfate hemihydrate and the consequent formation and crystallization of hydrated sulfate of calcium. In other words, when water is added to plaster of Paris, the two combine, again forming gypsum, which soon crystallizes into a hard solid mass ... 

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