Metaphysical guide of Quartz, Physical properties of Quartz



The word "quartz" is derived from the German word "quarz", which was imported from Middle High German, "twarc", which originated in Slavic (cf. Czech tvrdy ("hard"), Polish twardy ("hard"), Russian твёрдый ("hard")), from Old Church Slavonic тврьдъ ("firm"), from Proto-Slavic *tvьrdъ.

The word "quartz" comes from the German Quarz (help•info), which is of Slavic origin (Czech miners called it křemen). Other sources attribute the word's origin to the Saxon word Querkluftertz, meaning cross-vein ore.
Quartz is the most common material identified as the mystical substance maban in Australian Aboriginal mythology. It is found regularly in passage tomb cemeteries in Europe in a burial context, such as Newgrange or Carrowmore in the Republic of Ireland. The Irish word for quartz is grian cloch, which means 'stone of the sun'. Quartz was also used in Prehistoric Ireland, as well as many other countries, for stone tools; both vein quartz and rock crystal were knapped as part of the lithic technology of the prehistoric peoples.

At surface temperatures and pressures, quartz is the most stable form of silicon dioxide. Quartz will remain stable up to 573 °C at 1 kilobar of pressure. As the pressure increases the temperature at which quartz will lose stability also increases.
Above 1300 °C and at a pressure of approximately 35 kilobars, only β-quartz is stable. The latter is not the same as normal quartz (or α-quartz), low quartz or just quartz. β-quartz has higher symmetry, is less dense and has a slightly lower specific gravity. The conversion, from one solid substance to another solid substance, of quartz to β-quartz is quick, reversible and accompanied with a slight energy absorption. The conversion is so easily accomplished that when a crystal of quartz is heated to β-quartz, cooled back down, heated again to β-quartz, etc., the quartz will be the same as when it started.
The reason that the conversion is so easily accomplished is that the difference between quartz and β-quartz is relatively slight. The bonds between the oxygen and silicon atoms are "kinked" or bent in quartz and are not so "kinked" in β-quartz. At the higher temperatures the atoms move away from each other just enough to allow the bonds to unkink or straighten and produce the higher symmetry. As the temperature is lowered, the atoms close in on each other and the bonds must kink in order to be stable and this lowers the symmetry back down again.
Although all quartz at temperatures lower than 573 °C is low quartz, there are a few examples of crystals that obviously started out as β-quartz. Sometimes these are labeled as β-quartz but are actually examples of pseudomorphic or "falsely shaped" crystals more correctly labeled 'quartz after β-quartz'. These crystals are of higher symmetry than low quartz although low quartz can form similar crystals to them. They are composed of hexagonal dipyramids which are a pair of opposing six sided pyramids and the crystals lack prism faces. Quartz's typical termination is composed of two sets of three rhombic faces that can look like a six sided pyramid.
(Microscopic) crystal structure





Physical properties of Quartz:

Category: Silicate mineral
Chemical formula: Silica (silicon dioxide, SiO2)
Strunz classification: 04.DA.05
Dana classification:
Crystal symmetry: Trigonal 32
Unit cell: a = 4.9133 Å, c = 5.4053 Å; Z=3
Color: clear, white, Colorless through various colors to black
Crystal system: α-quartz: trigonal trapezohedral class 3 2; β-quartz: hexagonal 622
Twinning: Common Dauphine law, Brazil law and Japan law
Cleavage: {0110} Indistinct
Fracture: Conchoidal
Tenacity: Brittle
Mohs scale hardness: 7 - lower in impure varieties
Luster: Vitreous - waxy to dull when massive
Streak: White
Diaphaneity: Transparent to nearly opaque
Specific gravity: 2.65; variable 2.59-2.63 in impure varieties
Optical properties: Uniaxial (+)
Refractive index: nω = 1.543-1.545 nε = 1.552-1.554
Birefringence: +0.009 (B-G interval)
Pleochroism: None
Other characteristics: Piezoelectric, pyroelectric, may be triboluminescent, chiral (hence optically active if not racemic)
Location: World wide
Rarity: Common
Fun Fact: Quartz is not the only mineral composed of (SiO2) Silicon Dioxide. There are no less than eight other known structures that are composed of (SiO2) Silicon Dioxide.

Metaphysical guide of Quartz:

Healing, Enhancing, Amplification
Primary Chakras: ALL Astrological signs: ALL
Primary Chakra: ALL
Astrological sign(s): ALL
Vibration: Number 4




The Quartz products that may help you

Crystal Quartz Massage Tools
Crystal Quartz Spheres
Natural Quartz Crystal Prisms
All Quartz Products