Quartz

Origin Of Quartz

Quartz is the common mineral found in the earth continental crust. Quartz consists of hexagonal crystal structure which is made of trigonal crystallized silica with hardness. It is founded with the hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale and Density is 2.65 g/cm³. The common shape of the quartz will be twinned, distorted or massive that the part of the shape is apparent from the mined specimen. It consists of hollow rock with a core lined of bed crystals. Quartz is also the common material found in the earth surface with hexagonal crystal structure.

Quartz History

The word quartz comes from the German Quartz which is Slavic origin. It is also said that the origin is from the Saxon word. In Australian Aboriginal mythology, quartz is identified as the mystical substance maban. The roman naturalist Pliny believed that quartz is the permanently frozen ice. He says that quartz is found near glaciers in the Alps and that large quartz crystals were fashioned into spheres to cool the hands. Nicolas Steno's study paves the way for modern crystallography. Charles Sawyer invents the commercial quartz crystal manufacturing process. It initiated that the transition from mined and cut quartz are for electrical appliances to manufactured quartz.

Varieties Of Quartz

Quartz is the common crustal mineral which is puzzled with different names. The important distinguish character of quartz is that macro-crystalline and the microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline variety. The general term used for cryptocrystalline quartz is Chalcedony. The varieties may be translucent or opaque, but transparent varieties tend to be macro-crystalline.

Variety of names arose from the color of the mineral. For the macro-crystalline variety, color is the primary identifier and for cryptocrystalline minerals, color is the secondary identifier. All varieties of quartz are not the natural occurring. Prasiolite and majority of the quartz are produced by heat treatment and some quartz like citrine occurs naturally.

It is formed in hydrothermal veins and pegmatites. The hydrothermal veins bear precious metals such as gold or silver and form the quartz ores required in mining. The Erosion of pegmatites may expose extensive crystals known as cathedrals. It constitutes of granite, sandstone, limestone, and many other igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks.