The Process of Coating Quartz Crystals With Gold
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Quartz Crystals
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Quartz is one of, if not the most, common minerals on the Earth. They've been used for spiritual purposes for centuries, and large chunks of it can be found in any New Age shop. Quartz crystals also create an electrical charge when compressed. However, if an electrical charge is applied to a quartz crystal through a battery, it will expand. If the charge is turned off, then it will contract. If this process is done fast enough a quartz crystal will actually begin to vibrate.
Sensors
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The ability of a quartz crystal to vibrate has made it an important component of modern electronic equipment. Cameras, computers and hundreds of other machines all rely on quartz crystal sensors. Contrary to what people believe, these sensors aren't made from chunks of the crystal. Quartz is formed as a 6-sided bar and sliced into thin wafers. Unfortunately these wafers of quartz are often not thick enough to withstand the constant stress placed on them in sensors, so they need a coating. While many elements are possible, gold is considered to be one of the best. Once a crystal sensor is coated and fed electricity to make it vibrate, it can detect changes in sound, vibration, voltage or temperature that can be turned into data that can be displayed on a monitor.
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Coating Processes
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There are many coating processes (called deposition processes) that can be used to cover a quartz crystal with gold. Chemical vapor deposition occurs when the crystal is exposed to various gases (nitrogen, oxygen and an ionized form of the metal to be used as a coating are common), and the chemical reaction among those gases in the environment causes a coating of gold to form on the crystal. Another process is electrodeposition, where gold ions are in a chemical bath and an electrical charge causes a chemical reaction coating the quartz with gold. Other options include thermal oxidation, casting and physical vapor deposition.
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