Sunday, February 19, 2012

Applications of Quartz

A very common and known mineral on earth is quartz. Its name is derived from the Greek word Kristallos which means ice. Quartz has a huge variety of forms, habits and colors, is the material that many precious gemstones like citrine, amethyst and agate are formed of and is also the most common component of sand. Its structure is based on silicon dioxide SiO2 which in reality consists of a continuous framework of SiO4.

Scientist has found many applications for quartz crystals due to their unique properties and composition. A special type of glass can be made out of quartz and is called fused quartz. This is made by heating the mineral to temperatures around 2000 °C to obtain a transparent piece after cooling. The material obtained has superior properties that many other types of glass due to its higher properties. Actually we can find many applications of this material derived from quartz in fields like scientific research, technologic research, technology development, domestic uses and many kind of industries.

In laboratory work, for example, fused quartz has been found very useful as is very resistant to many chemical substances and high temperatures and is used instead the standard borosilicate glass which cannot resist high temperatures. As many materials composed of silica, SiO2, fused quartz can only be attacked by hydrofluoric acid.

Due to its electric resistivity, which is in the order of 1020 ohm/cm, this material is one of the best known electrical insulators. In the production of telescopes, fused quartz is use to make first surface mirrors, a key component in these materials. Due to the transparency of fused quartz to visible and ultraviolet light many light-involved techniques are used nowadays that involves the use of this type of glass.

Traditionally, quartz is known as a component of the quartz clocks. Quartz clocks were first produced in the 1970s when many quartz technologies were developing. A known property of quartz is its capacity to generate a charge or voltage in its surface after being compressed or bent. This phenomenon is known as the piezoelectric effect. In the same way, if voltage is applied quartz will tend to slightly change its shape or bent. This property was the base for the development of quartz watches as known today. Due to this principle, quartz crystals are now used for stabilizing radiofrequencies in many different systems. Later on, advanced research have lead to the development of the quartz microbalance, a powerful technique used nowadays in many research centers around the world.

In the esoteric world, quartz crystals are considered as an aura regenerator. In gemmotherapy, quartz is used to generate a direct positive energy, expand the intuition and the consciousness, give serenity and equilibrium, help in meditation, know the past and predict the future, all this because its capacity to emit energy.

Many applications of quartz crystals have been developed during the last hundred years that has influenced dramatically the evolution of technology. Many fields in science and people lives have been influenced by this type of material and its applications keep diversifying every day. From jewelry to physics quartz crystals keep impressing us with their versatility and potential uses.

1 comments:

Kathleen O'Connor said...

Nice information shared about quartz application, In this article i have collected good information. Thanks for sharing

fused quartz wafers

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