NaOH + MgSO4 Reaction & Precipitate Blossoms ?

Описание

When we react Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and Magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) in a petri dish we get Sodium sulfate (Na2SO4) and Magnesium hydroxide, Mg(OH)2. The Mg(OH)2 is insoluble in water and forms a precipitate. When the reaction is done in a petri dish the precipitate looks like flower blossoms.

The complete reaction is:
NaOH (aq) + MgSO4 (aq) = Na2SO4 (aq) + Mg(OH)2 (s)

The Net Ionic Equation is:
Mg2+ (aq) + 2OH- (aq) = Mg(OH)2 (s)
(see https://youtu.be/jKcJt2gJY8o how we got this).

The Magnesium sulfate used was from a bag of Epsom Salt. The Sodium hydroxide was purchased from a chemical supply company (on eBay).

I could have filtered off the precipitate in the beaker at the end of the video and obtained Mg(OH)2 as a solid.