More about Quartz

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One of the most useful and common minerals on the Earth, quartz serves a variety of industrial and commercial functions. In its multiple forms, which range from amethyst, agate and citrine to carnelian and tiger’s eye, it is also used for a variety of decorative purposes. These many variations, which span a large spectrum of colors and qualities, are regularly cut for rings, bracelets and other jewelry, with certain stones being worth considerable amounts.

A large portion of the quartz used for industrial applications is produced synthetically, through a hydrothermal production process. Natural quartz is very common, but it is often flawed or twinned, making it difficult or impossible to use for certain applications. Regular uses for quartz are in abrasives, optical lenses and electrical components, particularly as an integral part of piezoelectric devices. Piezoelectricity is the generation of electricity exhibited by certain crystals by the application of mechanical stress. Likewise, it also refers to the reverse reaction; a quartz crystal subjected to an external voltage will change shape by a minute fraction of its original size. This attribute is extremely useful in sensor instruments, such as sound detection devices, guitar pickups, and piezoelectric transducers.

Quartz is used extensively in timing devices due to its piezoelectric properties, as well as its oscillation frequencies. These frequencies depend on the size and dimensions of the quartz crystal. Generally, the timing crystal is cut in the shape of a tuning fork, although when higher resonance frequencies are required, it is cut as a rectangular plate. Because of the stability of a quartz crystal’s resonation, they can provide an extremely precise time measurement (admittedly, this will degrade slightly over long time periods).

Quartz is composed of silica, or silicon dioxide, and is the most varied naturally occurring mineral on the earth. It exists in both macrocrystalline and cryptocrystalline forms, the latter referring to crystals that are too small to view with a microscope. Due to its high UV and VIS transmittance, durability and other optical characteristics it is widely used in the production of lenses and optical components.