• Question: How does quartz crystals form in common stone?

    Asked by to Daren, Lynne, Phillip, Simon on 23 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Lynne Thomas

      Lynne Thomas answered on 23 Jun 2014:

      When atoms and molecules become solids, they tend to form crystals – crystals contain a regular arrangement of these atoms or molecules in a three-dimensional grid and are the most efficient way of packing them together to take up the least space. Quartz crystals are crystals of silicon dioxide and if they grow undisturbed in nature, they can form very big crystals in the rock. All you need is to have a rock which contains lots of silicon dioxide usually dissolved in a liquid like water. The longer they grow for, the bigger they get. There is a lot of quartz in sand as well but because this is often disturbed, the crystals don’t get very big.

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