Quartz is among the most important minerals. It also the most varied mineral as well as part of crystal. The compound of quartz consists of silicon material and oxygen into two tetrahydes that creates clear and crystal-like color. Form of quartz itself vary from solid to powder and often comes in two types of quartz.
The first type is normal and the other one is high temperature quartz. Each type of quartz may create variation and use. There are many important uses of quartz as follow.
- Glass Making Material
The sand that glassmaker uses to create glass, one hundred percent contains quartz. On high temperature, quartz that is originally powder turns to be solid, durable, and has clear color. Moreover, during the heating process, glassmaker can easily shape the quartz almost into anything.
Product that uses glass has many variations. Given that quartz is the main material of glass makes it an important mineral and inorganic compound. Fortunately, quartz is abundant and recyclable, making glass using it a great factor of industry with a more long last period. Thus, it marks just how important quartz is in both chemistry and economy.
- Watch Making Material
People notice that in their wristwatch, the material of the glass is always made from quartz. Quartz has pretty solid and durable material, thus making it ideal for creating the glass of watches. Furthermore, quartz in its original form is more affordable than any other gemstone such as diamond. Hence, mass production of watches using quartz is much more beneficial and worth the result as well.
Not only it is a watch material, it is also the material of the glass in clock. Basically every stuffs that has glass as its material must have quartz in it. It shows just how important quartz is.
- Gemstone Material
Quartz has many variations of form and those forms are good material for gemstone jewelry. Variations of quartz are amethyst with beautiful violet color, herkimer diamond, ametrine with its purplish color, beautiful pink in rose quartz, citrine, blue quartz, prasiolite, crytsal rock that has the similar effect of diamond and many more.
The many variations of quartz make it a valuable material for jewelry making because they have beautiful colors and more affordable compared to carbon based compound like diamond orgold that have higher price and production cost.
- Abrasive Material
Another use of quartz is as abrasive material. It says that quartz has strong durability and in its sand can get rid of obstacle if it is in much amount. Abrasive material is not always associated with bad thing. Some industries need abrasive material to get rid of hindrance without causing much change.
Quartz sand is good for sand blasting, sand sawing, scouring and grinding material with smoother result. Therefore, quartz sand (that belongs to normal tempered sand) is different from ordinary sand because its hard texture, despite its form, has power when user use them together as abrasive material. It proves that quartz has important use in industry.
- Anti Corrosive
Being one of the most durable mineral, quartz is also anti corrosive material. Chemical corrosion that often destroy a compound, be it solid or not, is common. However, quartz is sturdy enough to not get affected by chemical corrosion. In fact, quartz is among the strongest mineral with Moh scale score 7, topped only by sapphire, topaz, and diamond at the highest.
This makes quartz a reliable and durable material for household material. Aside from that, quartz is also the most abundant compared to the other three that has the strongest nature. Thus, it is relatively cheap and cut the cost for production. Products from quartz usually is more affordable than diamond or sapphire.
- Electricity Isolator
Among other compounds in this world, quartz can exist everywhere and pretty much very durable even to electricity. Research found quartz to be an outstanding isolator as opposite to conductor uses. Alteration of electricity that occurs within its component makes quartz does not channel electricity but blocked it instead.
Moreover, products made from quartz are more resistant to electricity than those from fabric as fabric can ignite electric reaction from friction while quartz does not. Thus, quartz is a good material for products that should not caught on electrical reaction.
- Heat Resistor
Almost all sides of the world have quartz sand. It proves that quartz can endure any temperature as well as weather condition. This mineral is pretty durable to heat despite extreme temperature change compared to Heat Transfer Through Conduction Example in Daily Life. Moreover, it has solid form once it becomes industrial products. Certainly it cannot always resist heat especially when quartz sand is melted in its boiling point (in glassmaking), but once it becomes glass or when it varies as other gemstone (amethyst, ametrine, etc) it is more resistant to heat.
Compare it to polymer, paper, or wood, quartz definitely is better in resisting heat. It takes longer for heat to break the component of quartz than it on wood or polymer. Thus, it is a durable material for industrial purpose and serve important role.
- Sharpening Tools
Due to quartz hardness, it also works to sharpen other materials but giving continuous friction to those needs to be sharp. Sharpening tools for knives and cutleries often also has quartz in it. Strength of quartz able to overpower silver material and sharpens them instead.
Thus, quartz strength and durability makes a favorable option to create sharpening tools. It also safer and more efficient than the one made with stone.
Other Uses of Quartz
Here is the list of important uses of quartz:
- Household furniture ideal materials
- UV prisms and lenses
- Molding and casting agent
- Molten metals
The amount of quartz on the earth matches the number of benefit it has. Literally almost all industries utilize quartz along with Importance of Organic Chemistry in Industry either as main material or as supporting material. Moreover, it is more affordable than other gemstone. Owning the many uses in industry, quartz undoubtedly is one of the most important minerals in the world.