But on the atomic level, we have a poor understanding of how crystals form, particularly nucleation – the very first step in the crystallisation process.

Since crystallisation is used for a wide number of applications - from medicine to industrial manufacturing – this is a step towards better controlling how we create materials, the researchers said.

The technique is called single-molecule atomic-resolution real-time electron microscopy, or SMART-EM, used to study molecules and molecular aggregates.

By combining it with a newly developed sample preparation method, the team captured the very formation of salt crystals.

With the stunning videos Sakakibara captured, we immediately noticed the opportunity to study the structural and statistical aspects of crystal nucleation in unprecedented detail.".

Nine times the researchers observed the process, and nine times the molecules arranged themselves into a cluster fluctuating between featureless and semi-ordered states before suddenly forming into a crystal: four atoms wide by six atoms long.