Why Quartz Really Rocks : Mineral Importance and Conservation

It’s a crystal mineral, it can be pink, white, or purple, it’s tough, hard, and strong enough to be formed into tools during the Stone Ages. Have you guessed it yet? 

 The answer is quartz! 

 

You may be wondering why we had this quick guessing game. Well, this is because I want to show you how amazing this mineral is because of its versatility, and where we can find it in our everyday lives, starting from the most common and visible forms to the more hidden ones, that we may not even know about. Let’s dive in!

Shining, Shimmering, Splendid!

As you’ve probably seen recently on Tiktok, Instagram or maybe even worn by your favorite celebrity, quartz is popular in the jewelry industry. These crystals are excellent for this purpose because of their hard, polishable and durable nature. Their different varieties are all beautifully colored and aesthetically pleasing. Here are some beautiful examples!

Aside from their outward beauty, there are also people who believe that crystals like quartz can bring them healing or good luck, like clear quartz, citrine (yellow variety), tiger’s eye (brown-orange variety), green adventurine (green, translucent variety), and many more.

Crystal Clear Quartz Glass

In the production of glass, silica dioxide is the main ingredient. This chemical compound can be found in quartz. After removing impurities, the raw quartz goes through a reduction process, giving us quartz powder or sand. It then undergoes more processes until it becomes quartz glass, or just glass as we know it today. Now, anytime you get up late at night to get a glass of water, you’ll always think of the fact that it is made up of quartz. This is also true for glass jars, and plates you use at the table every day. Aside from these daily uses, quartz glass is used in microscopes, telescopes, electronic sensors, scientific instruments, and even lasers! Much larger volumes of quartz glass are also used in construction, to make glass windows and doors, as well as special kinds of glass modified to have different textures.

  

Below is a video with a more detailed walkthrough of quartz glass production, as well as other information you may need.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIEqie4nU2I

Tick Tock, Tick Tock

Have you ever checked the time on your watch one day to notice the word “quartz” printed inside? This may not be true for all watches, but it sure was true for mine. 

I’ve always wondered what this meant, but I never looked into it during my 2 years of using it. It turns out, this indicated that the watch uses an electronic oscillator, regulated by a quartz crystal. This is the inside of a quartz watch.

That cylindric part is the tube that has a sliver of quartz inside. Electricity is transmitted to the quartz through the two wires connected to one end of the tube, and this causes it to change its shape. When there is no more electricity, the quartz changes back into its original shape. This movement or “oscillation” gives off a pulse of electricity of its own. Most quartz watches and clocks have a frequency of 32768 Hz. This is important in order for them to be accurate and precise. I think it’s very interesting that a tiny piece of quartz can be so important in making sure we’re always on time.

Powering On!

Aside from clocks and watches, quartz crystals can also be found in our electronics. Our computers, cellphones, radios, and other devices also contain crystal oscillators, just like the ones in wristwatches and clocks that you’ve read about just now. Our digital devices use them for the same purpose, only sometimes in different frequencies depending on the device.

 

And these are only four of the many uses of quartz! Fascinating, isn’t it? And quartz is also just one of the many minerals that we use everyday without realizing it; minerals like sulfur, calcite, and magnetite are used to treat and diagnose various diseases or disorders, and clay, chalcopyrite, and bauxite are minerals we can find in our kitchen equipment. Mica, hematite, and asbestos are minerals used in construction. Surely this is reason enough for people like you and me to start exploring ways to maintain or conserve our mineral resources. But how do we do this exactly?

1. Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle Your E-Waste.

Now that we have just learned about the use of quartz and other minerals in our electronic devices, we can make use of this knowledge by applying the old but gold principle of "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" when our electronics cannot be used or will not be used anymore. First off, reduce your e-waste by avoiding purchasing new electronics simply because they're the latest models, or because other people have influenced you into buying them, when you have a perfectly functional one at home that can still be used. Sure, your current phone might not have the latest camera functions, but that doesn't mean it can't capture your memories just as well. You can reuse your e-waste by keeping older devices if you do need to purchase new ones. It would be better for friends and family to still be able to use them, or put them on the market as second hand items. They could also be donated to charities. And last but not the least, you can recycle your electronics by bringing them with you as you buy new electronics, and hand them in to be recycled. Waste management facilities will recover minerals from your devices to be used again. This lessens our dependence on mineral deposit mining and makes more room for their preservation.

2.  Use substitutes for materials containing mineral resources.

Materials that are derived from minerals like aluminum and tin are used in food packaging, as cleaning tools. Fast food companies or restaurants can use alternative materials for this purpose like plastic or glass containers. If your family owns a business that uses aluminum or tin packaging, you can suggest this so as to conserve these mineral resources. This is only one example of switching out materials containing minerals for more sustainable ones, and there are still so many for us to discover. Just keep in mind to always make sure these substitutes are used and disposed properly without harming the environment.

3.  Raise awareness and educate others!

The conservation of minerals is a timely topic to speak about, as environmental issues are frequently discussed today- more so now than ever. A simple social media post or sharing resources that will educate readers about the importance of mineral resources and their conservation can go a long way. Use your voice, you never know what big things a small action can bring!

And that's all the new knowledge I wanted to share with you today! I hope you enjoyed reading this entry, and remember what you have learned. Thank you for reading and have a nice day! :)