What is Quartz: Definition and 36 Discussions

Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical formula of SiO2. Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in Earth's continental crust, behind feldspar.Quartz exists in two forms, the normal α-quartz and the high-temperature β-quartz, both of which are chiral. The transformation from α-quartz to β-quartz takes place abruptly at 573 °C (846 K; 1,063 °F). Since the transformation is accompanied by a significant change in volume, it can easily induce fracturing of ceramics or rocks passing through this temperature threshold.
There are many different varieties of quartz, several of which are semi-precious gemstones. Since antiquity, varieties of quartz have been the most commonly used minerals in the making of jewelry and hardstone carvings, especially in Eurasia.
Quartz is the mineral defining the value of 7 on the Mohs scale of hardness, a qualitative scratch method for determining the hardness of a material to abrasion.

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  1. J

    Electrical Quartz Clocks (Battery Operated)

    I never had quartz clock I see you need to use carbon battery, I am thinking start with 1000 ohm resistor and see if clock runs with alkaline battery if not just keep lowering resistance.
  2. Twigg

    Cost/Benefits of an RF Cavity vs Quartz Oscillator

    I just encountered an RF cavity in the wild for the first time. It was used as the frequency reference in the Agilent 8640B RF signal generator, which I believe dates back to the 70's. Were quartz oscillators not an option back then? Or were they worse in stability back then? I'm curious about...
  3. Romantic_night

    Thermodynamics question about glass (quartz)

  4. K

    Piezoelectric Quartz with Pressurized Mercury Vortex

    I am curious if it would be possible to put a quartz crystal at the bottom of strong cylinder vial with half the crystal hanging out the bottom (but sealed) and have mercury on top of it and then pressurized if it would create a constant vortex? If the mechanical force of the pressure from the...
  5. Edge5

    B Quartz vs. Glass -- why do they have different melting points?

    Why quartz has a higher melting Temperature than glass? Which one is harder and why?
  6. Paul Colby

    Can Crystal Symmetry Explain the Lack of Optical Activity in Quartz?

    Hi, I've been looking at the optics of ##\alpha##-quartz which comes in two parities, left and right. Quartz is optically active which means that the plane of a linearly polarized beam propagating along the optic axis is rotated by an angle proportional to the distance traveled. I would like...
  7. P

    B Do Quartz Crystals in Ancient Structures Emit Energy?

    we have heard that pyramids, old temples are made from hard stones containing quartz crystals. Is they radiate any kind of energy so that we get a pleasant feeling?
  8. F

    A Rajlich's Hypothesis - Ultrasonic Cavitation

    'Rajlich's Hypothesis is a physical hypothesis with a significance for geology. There exist macroscopic white lamellae inside quartz and other minerals in the Bohemian Massif and even at another places in whole of the world like wavefronts generated by a meteorite impact according to the...
  9. F

    A Deconvolution of the optical absorption spectra

    Hi people, i am doing the deconvolution of the optical absorption spectra of some quartz samples . The optical absorption spectra were obtained following a step annealing procedure.For the deconvolution i am using the Origin 9, so my question is.. Why in some articles i find the deconvolution...
  10. S

    Atomic Layer Deposition Reactor Design?

    Is it made of quartz or stainless steel/aluminum or what? Does it matter which?that's all I need to know, I just can't seem to find if they can be made of standard vacuum metals or if they have to be quartz. Only really seen some diagrams mention quartz tubes but the pictures of large ones seem...
  11. Y

    Fluorescence of fused silica, quartz and Borofloat 33?

    I am trying to get a glass substrate, which is transparent. However, I need this substrate to have low fluorescence. I know fused silica, quartz and Borofloat 33 are transparent but I don't know which one has the lowest fluorescence. I checked google but can't find any data that directly...
  12. Y

    Difference between quartz, fused silica and Borofloat glass?

    I am looking over the supplies on University Wafer until I notice the following: link: https://order.universitywafer.com/default.aspx?cat=Borofloat%2033%20Glass&diam=100mm They sell quartz, fused silica and Borofloat glass as different products. I thought quartz and fused silica are the same...
  13. ryanuser

    Where to Purchase PVDF Piezoelectric Sheets?

    Hi Where can I buy Piezoelectric sheets? Similar to the one shown in the picture. Thanks
  14. Q

    Wave Generator with Crystal Quartz Oscillator?

    Hi All! A little background info. I'm working with cardiac pacemaking devices with the overall scope of implementing piezoelectric energy harvesters into the devices. I'm in the initial stages of research and development. Okay, so this is my conundrum: I have an output pulse circuit as shown...
  15. TESL@

    Alternative to Quartz Tube

    Hello, I am doing a project which involves very hot confined plasma. The problem is, quartz tubing is way too expensive for me. I don't want to deal with impurities so I came to ask if you can suggest any cheaper alternatives. Here are my ideas: Borosilicate glass with "getter" coating. (I...
  16. A

    Piece of quartz mixed with gold

    Homework Statement Piece of quartz containing gold weights 102,5g and average density is 7,98g/cm3. Density of quartz is 2,65g/cm3. How much does gold weight? Homework Equations ρ=m/V avg.ρ= m1+m2/V1+V2 The Attempt at a Solution Using average density I find that volume of this piece is...
  17. K

    Longitudinal waves in a quartz plate

    Homework Statement In a quartz longitudinal waves produce peaks on the 2 sides of the plate. the base frequency is: ##f_1=\frac{2.87E5}{s}## Where s is the thickness. calculate Young's modulus of quartz. \rho=specific mass=2.66[gr/cm3] Homework Equations \lambda=wavelength, u=velocity...
  18. D

    Quartz Crystal Microbalance equilibrium

    Hi guys, I am a new user of QCM and I am having trouble reaching equilibrium. I have isolated the chamber from air flows and vibrations, the crystals are clean and all the other removable parts have been cleaned as well. The real problem is that sometimes I have managed to reach equilibrium...
  19. J

    Testing the piezoelectric properties of Quartz Crystals

    Hello :) I am Jon and I am conducting an experiment with Quartz Crystals to test their piezoelectric properties. I wanted to ask you a question about my experiment set up. Which type of force is required to be applied for voltage to be produced? Could I apply a compressive force with...
  20. Salvador

    Quartz Dielectric in Capacitors: What Happens?

    Hi everyone. I have been reading on capacitors and dielectrics , before that i was reading up on piezoelectric materials like quartz crystal. My question is , what would happen if we put a layer of quartz crystal between two parallel plates of a capacitor ? I think quartz is a dielectric...
  21. S

    Vibrational modes of quartz crystal

    I have a problem about the vibrational modes of a quarts crystal Two vibrational modes are induced simultaneously in a quartz crystal at MHz frequencies via a transducer hooked up to two signal generators it appears as if a third average frequency is also generated but only becomes...
  22. D

    Unlocking the Physics of Quartz: Laser, Photons, & More

    Hi all, I have been looking at quartz and trying to work out the physics at a atomic level, how it reacts with photons/laser is of particular interest. I will leave this open as any knowledge you have is welcome, there is the obvious it converts electrical to mechanical and vice versa but...
  23. D

    Can Quartz Crystals Convert Heat to AC Electricity?

    Quartz crystals are used in clocks to regulate time measurement. Does a quartz crystal convert heat energy to AC electrical energy? Duordi
  24. C

    Algebra - Quartz Tuning Fork Watch

    Algebra - "Quartz Tuning Fork" Watch Homework Statement Many modern watches operate based on a small quartz tuning fork which transduces a mechanical oscillation into an electrical signal. The frequency of the tuning fork is inversely proportional to sqrt(l), with l being the length of the...
  25. D

    If you roll a quartz ball into another quartz ball

    if you roll a quartz ball into another quartz ball... If you roll a quartz ball into a stationary quartz ball what would happen to any electrical energy in the collision? My guess is that the structures would need to be in perfect alignment for any meaningful electrical energy transfer and any...
  26. O

    Does Quartz vibrate without applying voltage?

    I hear someone said Quartz can naturally vibrate without applying voltage for healing application. Will it be true? Is there any device to measure this vibration? Furthermore, he describes that Quartz can be a device for data storage, which is proved. Will it be true? I know Quartz vibrate with...
  27. K

    What is the breaking point of quartz crystal

    So how many pounds does it take for quartz to break into several diffrent peices?
  28. H

    Titanium rainbow quartz help

    Hi, I am wondering if anyone can help me with a strange request... I am looking to find out if there is any way with the help of an expert I can recreate the same or a similar effect of the rainbow/iridescent effect that is found on titanium rainbow quartz crystals? This could either be on...
  29. R

    Total Internal Reflection of quartz

    Homework Statement The drawing shows a crystalline quartz slab with a rectangular cross-section. A ray of light strikes the slab at an incident angle of 1=34o, enters the quartz and travels to point Po (Figure2). This slab is surrounded by a fluid with a refractive index n...
  30. S

    Quartz crystal microbalance

    I want to know the basic principle of working for quartz crystal microbalance, how it is used to measure the thickness of the film?And why it can work at room temp (with water cooling) and at higher temp say 65deg ??
  31. I

    Quartz Resonator: Differences Between Crystal Resonators, Oscillators & Filters

    when reading about the main differences between crystal resonators, oscillators and filters there's not much difference in operation, except that filters seem to have the crystal resonators and capacitors and resistors, And resonators seem to oscillate when the proper frequency is applied, And...
  32. I

    Maximum Drive Voltage for Quartz Crystals: How Much Is Too Much?

    When it comes to the piezoelectric effect you can have a small quartz crystal and apply a force to it and get thousands of volts as a result. But if you took a quartz crystal and applied a thousand volts to it, would it just crack? For a quartz crystal to take a couple thousand volts charge (no...
  33. G

    Can Electrons Travel Through Quartz?

    I'm wondering can electrons travel through quartz at any great distance. I'm assuming since quartz is an insulator they will not be able travel any apreciable distance within the material. Say if we got some extremely high energy electrons and fired them at a quartz slide, would any of...
  34. N

    If power were applied to a one meter cube of quartz crystal

    Is it true that, if power were applied to a one meter cube of quartz crystal and the crystal were driven to the breaking point, the gravity waves produced would definetly, 100%, be orders of magnitude too weak to be detected? Apparently Albert Einstein calculated that
  35. R

    How Do Quartz Crystals Vibrate When Electrified in Watches?

    I am interested in finding out some details concerning vibrations of quartz as it is used in quartz watches. How can I calculate the amount of vibration for a specific size of quartz crystal when an electrical charge is applied? Example: For a 1 cm cubic crystal of quartz, how fast would the...
  36. T

    How does quartz produce a charge when a force is applied?

    I'm doing a presentation on the physical properties of quartz for my Physics a-level and mostly on its piezoelectric properties but I am having trouble finding out exactly it produces a charge when a force is applied upon it. Any help anyone could give me would be greatly appreciated, also any...
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