Physical Properties of Quartz
Quartz can be found abundantly and is one of the most common minerals on the face of the earth. Quartz can be found in almost all geological settings and it is additionally a component of nearly every type or rock. Quartz has a hexagonal crystal structure to it and is made of trigonal or rhombohedral crystallized silica. It is a very varied mineral as far as the forms, colors and varieties it comes in. The most noteworthy difference between the kinds of quartz is that one is of macrocrystalline, which is made up of an individual crystal that can be seen with the naked eye. The other type is known as microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline varieties, aggregates of crystals that can only be seen under high magnification. The see through variety is usually macrocrystalline and the cruptocrystalline varieties are sometimes translucent but for the most part opaque. The name quartz came about from the German word “Quarz” which has a Slavic origin. Quartz is the most common of all the mineral types. Nicholas Steno who was a pioneer in geology did a study of quartz and introduced modern crystallography. In his discovery he states that it did not matter how distorted or what shape a quartz crystal is, the long prism faces always made a perfect sixty degree angle.
Physical properties of quartz
- Color: clear when in its pure form
- Crystal habit: six sided prism ending in a six sided pyramid
- Crystal system: Trigonal
- Melting point: 1650 degrees C.
- Boiling point: 2230 degrees C.
- Solubility: H2O insoluble
- Cleavage: None
- Fracture: Conchoidal
- Mohs scale of hardness: 7 or lower in varieties that are impure
- Luster: vitreous
- Streak: white
- Specific gravity: 2.65, can vary in impure varieties
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