Q is for Quartz

automatic captions, checked for structure and key terms; corrections welcome

[00:00:18.860] sandstone, obsidian, pyrite. Hey, Adabot, what you up to? Oh,
[00:00:25.080] I was just going through my rock collection. I forgot I had so many.
[00:00:29.300] Find anything good?
[00:00:31.380] Sure. Some precious stones.
[00:00:34.080] This one's my favorite. It's quartz.
[00:00:41.140] That quartz does look special. Where did you get it?
[00:00:44.400] There was a rock show at the museum.
[00:00:46.700] I thought there would be more guitar solos, but it turned out to be a bunch of
[00:00:51.040] people trading minerals.
[00:00:52.780] So I got this quartz because it looks really neat.
[00:00:56.640] It looks neat because it is neat.
[00:00:59.300] we use quartz in electronics all the time. Did someone say time? Oh, why,
[00:01:05.380] yes. I was just
[00:01:06.740] explaining to Adabot how quartz is used in electronics. Excellent. Adabot, do you know
[00:01:12.740] why I am the world's greatest integrated circuit? No, Hans, why are you the
[00:01:18.580] world's greatest...
[00:01:19.320] Timing! It's what I take care of in a circuit. And do you know why my timing is so
[00:01:24.900] impeccable?
[00:01:26.280] No. Why is your timing so important?
[00:01:28.980] Quartz! And why does quartz create perfect timing?
[00:01:33.600] Um, are you going to keep interrupting me?
[00:01:36.020] Oh, settle down, Hans. I can explain why quartz is so important for timing.
[00:01:40.620] Why, thank you.
[00:01:42.400] You see, certain materials, such as quartz crystals, are piezoelectric.
[00:01:47.780] Simply put, this means if you apply a small amount of mechanical force to a piece
[00:01:52.740] of quartz,
[00:01:53.200] it will generate a small electrical voltage.
[00:01:56.500] Whoa, that sounds pretty unusual.
[00:01:59.260] So, if I crushed quartz, would it shock me?
[00:02:03.600] Well, you have to squeeze it very lightly and just right.
[00:02:07.940] And the electrical voltage is very, very small.
[00:02:10.960] But, yes, I suppose you're right.
[00:02:14.540] And the opposite is also true.
[00:02:17.040] If you apply voltage to a piece of quartz,
[00:02:19.880] it will respond with a precise mechanical vibration.
[00:02:23.820] Whoa! Quartz sounds like magic.
[00:02:26.880] It's not magic, Adabot. It's science.
[00:02:29.640] Take a look inside this quartz watch, for instance.
[00:02:38.800] This little integrated circuit here
[00:02:41.600] passes electrical current to the quartz crystal.
[00:02:44.760] Then the quartz vibrates at precisely 32,768
[00:02:51.260] times per second.
[00:02:53.140] The IC detects the vibrations, counts them one by one,
[00:02:57.080] and when it gets all 32,768, it knows one second has passed.
[00:03:02.820] So there's a quartz crystal inside of that little metal container?
[00:03:06.700] Yeah, and it looks something like this.
[00:03:16.320] Hey, that looks like a tuning fork.
[00:03:19.560] That's true, it does look like a tuning fork.
[00:03:22.900] Musicians use tuning forks to tune their instruments.
[00:03:28.700] And circuits use quartz to tune their timing.
[00:03:32.220] You're right!
[00:03:35.040] Very true, Adabot. Quartz is an important reference for the timing of so many circuits,
[00:03:41.120] microcontrollers, computers, and more.
[00:03:42.900] I always wondered what was in those little metal cans
[00:03:46.480] And now, I know
[00:03:48.820] Well, it's about time
[00:03:51.780] Adabot, I believe Minerva just made a time joke
[00:03:56.200] Is that what that was?
[00:03:58.480] Heyo!
[00:03:59.420] Zing
[00:03:59.940] Thank you all, thank you all