• Question: What is Quartz?

    Asked by The_Legitimate_Callux to Angela, Claire, Ian, Robert, Sarah on 14 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: Ian Cade

      Ian Cade answered on 14 Nov 2014:

      Crystalline silicon dioxide… simple as that.

    • Photo: Angela Stokes

      Angela Stokes answered on 16 Nov 2014:

      Hi there

      Just a few extra facts on silicon dioxide…..
      Silicon dioxide is very hard. It has a very high melting point (1,610 °C) and boiling point (2,230 °C), is insoluble in water, and does not conduct electricity. These properties result from the very strong covalent bonds that hold the silicon and oxygen atoms in the giant covalent structure.

      Silicon dioxide is found as quartz in granite, and is the major compound in sandstone. The sand on a beach is made mostly of silicon dioxide.

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