Quartz

Quartz- a common stone used in watches and clocks. But where do they come from and what is its significance??

Quartz is a chemical compound consisting of one part silicon and two parts oxygen. It is silicon dioxide (SiO2). It is the most abundant mineral found at Earth's surface, and its unique properties make it one of the most useful natural substances.

Quartz can be considered the most abundant and widely distributed mineral that can be found in the earth's crust. It is highly resistant to both mechanical and chemical weathering. This durability makes it the dominant mineral of mountaintops and the primary constituent of beach, river, and desert sand. Quartz is ubiquitous, plentiful and durable. Minable deposits are found throughout the world.

Uses of Quartz

According to Mohs Scale (a scale of hardness based on the ability of one mineral to scratch another)

, Quartz scores a magnitude of 7 which makes it relatively hard and gives it an abrasive property. Quartz sands and finely ground silica sand are used for sand blasting, scouring cleansers, grinding media, and grit for sanding and sawing.

Quartz sand is used as a filler in the manufacture of rubber, paint, and putty. Screened and washed, carefully sized quartz grains are used as filter media and roofing granules. Quartz sands are used for traction in the railroad and mining industries. These sands are also used in recreation on golf courses, volleyball courts, baseball fields, children's sand boxes and beaches.

Quartz crystal meanwhile has an ability to vibrate at precise frequency. It is this property that makes this mineral essential in making an extremely accurate time-keeping instrument and equipment that can transmit radio and television signals with precise and stable frequencies. The tiny devices used for these purposes are known as “crystal oscillators.” billions of quartz crystals are used to make oscillators for watches, clocks, radios, televisions, electronic games, computers, cell phones, electronic meters, and GPS equipment.

Quartz can also be made as an accessory jewellery item. It can make an excellent gemstone since it is hard durable and can be polished as well. There are a number of popular types of quartz that can be used as gems such as rose quartz(shown in pic), amethyst, citrine and aventurine.

Mining Method

Quartz is extracted from open pit mines. Miners only use explosives on rare occasions when they need to expose a deep seam of quartz. The reason for this is that although quartz is known for its hardness, it damages easily if it is suddenly exposed to a change in temperature, such as that caused by a blast. Instead, mining operations use bulldozers and backhoes to remove soil and clay, and expose the quartz crystal veins in the rock. A backhoe is a piece of excavating equipment with a tractor and loading bucket.

That's all for now. Hope the next time we see Quartz somewhere in any of our instrument or electrical equipment, we will appreciate how this piece of rock has made our advancement in technology easier and possible!!

All images taken from Google Images.