Quartz crystals are used to help create and control harmonic frequencies.
Crystal quartz, while one of the most common minerals on the planet, has some very specific uses concerning harmonic frequencies. Crystal quartz is used to make a variety of different sensors in electronic and radio equipment because of its properties.
Crystal Quartz
Crystal quartz is actually just a form of silicon dioxide. This material forms roughly twelve percent of the earth's crust (making it extremely common), but due to the demand there simply isn't enough natural quartz to go around. As a result most crystal quartz that's used in sensors and oscillators is grown in laboratories to ensure its crystal structure.
Piezoelectric Properties
Crystal quartz is a piezoelectric material, which means that when it's subjected to pressure it creates an electric charge. The size of the charge that's created in volts will give observers who can measure the charge an exact idea of how much pressure the quartz happens to be under. This process is also reversible, meaning that a crystal quartz that's exposed to an electric charge will change its size and shape.
Oscillations
When a quartz crystal is exposed to electricity in regular pulses it's forced to vibrate as its size changes back and forth. These oscillations create a harmonic frequency. If the electric charge is constantly applied to the crystal quartz then it will continue to expand and contract at the same rate, holding the frequency steady. Changing the rate of charge will change the frequency that the crystal oscillates at.
Temperature
While a quartz crystal is a fantastic conductor of sound, the harmonic frequency effect can be affected by the temperature of the environment that this is taking place in. For instance, the hotter the environment is, the fewer oscillations the crystal quartz goes through. This effect is measurable, and each degree of temperature in Celcius reduces the oscillations of the quartz, depending on how the stone is cut and what frequency it's vibrating at.
Uses
Quartz crystal is used as a harmonic sensor as well as a pressure sensor. These crystals have also been used as parts of gyroscopic sensors, and as parts in radios, computers and other electronics over the years. Usually the quartz is grown in a laboratory setting, and then cut into small discs which are then polished and cut to fit a given application.
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