q is for quartz

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

0:18sandstone, obsidian, pyrite. Hey, Adabot, what you up to? Oh,

0:25I was just going through my rock collection. I forgot I had so many.

0:29Find anything good?

0:31Sure. Some precious stones.

0:34This one's my favorite. It's quartz.

0:41That quartz does look special. Where did you get it?

0:44There was a rock show at the museum.

0:46I thought there would be more guitar solos, but it turned out to be a bunch of

0:51people trading minerals.

0:52So I got this quartz because it looks really neat.

0:56It looks neat because it is neat.

0:59we use quartz in electronics all the time. Did someone say time? Oh, why,

1:05yes. I was just

1:06explaining to Adabot how quartz is used in electronics. Excellent. Adabot, do you know

1:12why I am the world's greatest integrated circuit? No, Hans, why are you the

1:18world's greatest...

1:19Timing! It's what I take care of in a circuit. And do you know why my timing is so

1:24impeccable?

1:26No. Why is your timing so important?

1:28Quartz! And why does quartz create perfect timing?

1:33Um, are you going to keep interrupting me?

1:36Oh, settle down, Hans. I can explain why quartz is so important for timing.

1:40Why, thank you.

1:42You see, certain materials, such as quartz crystals, are piezoelectric.

1:47Simply put, this means if you apply a small amount of mechanical force to a piece

1:52of quartz,

1:53it will generate a small electrical voltage.

1:56Whoa, that sounds pretty unusual.

1:59So, if I crushed quartz, would it shock me?

2:03Well, you have to squeeze it very lightly and just right.

2:07And the electrical voltage is very, very small.

2:10But, yes, I suppose you're right.

2:14And the opposite is also true.

2:17If you apply voltage to a piece of quartz,

2:19it will respond with a precise mechanical vibration.

2:23Whoa! Quartz sounds like magic.

2:26It's not magic, Adabot. It's science.

2:29Take a look inside this quartz watch, for instance.

2:38This little integrated circuit here

2:41passes electrical current to the quartz crystal.

2:44Then the quartz vibrates at precisely 32,768

2:51times per second.

2:53The IC detects the vibrations, counts them one by one,

2:57and when it gets all 32,768, it knows one second has passed.

3:02So there's a quartz crystal inside of that little metal container?

3:06Yeah, and it looks something like this.

3:16Hey, that looks like a tuning fork.

3:19That's true, it does look like a tuning fork.

3:22Musicians use tuning forks to tune their instruments.

3:28And circuits use quartz to tune their timing.

3:32You're right!

3:35Very true, Adabot. Quartz is an important reference for the timing of so many circuits,

3:41microcontrollers, computers, and more.

3:42I always wondered what was in those little metal cans

3:46And now, I know

3:48Well, it's about time

3:51Adabot, I believe Minerva just made a time joke

3:56Is that what that was?

3:58Heyo!

3:59Zing

3:59Thank you all, thank you all