Introduction
Quartz is the most common silica, SiO₂, polymorph on the surface of the Earth and one of the major constituents of the Earth's outer crust (Frondel, 1962). Furthermore, quartz has a propensity to accumulate on the surface and within the outer crust, because of its physical and chemical properties. Quartz has a Mohs hardness of seven on a scale of ten. Few minerals are as hard or harder than quartz: most of these are considered gems. In addition to high hardness, the lack of a well-defined cleavage and high abrasion resistance characterize the physical properties and acid resistance the chemical properties of quartz. Because of the properties, quartz is the most common resistate detrital mineral on the surface of the Earth and tends to form beaches, sand bars, dunes, dune fields, and other nearly pure silica deposits. These granular quartz deposits form sandstones when preserved from erosion. Sandstones metamorphosed during burial within the crust become quartzites; extremely hard, tough, and compact rocks that defy most natural weathering processes. Sandstones and quartzites also defy igneous processes, because the melting temperature of quartz exceeds 1600° C (Weast and Selby, 1968).

The extreme hardness and toughness of quartz is attributable to several factors. Firstly, the structure is defined by a three-dimensional hexagonal crystal lattice consisting entirely of (SiO₄) tetrahedra. The crystal lattice of quartz is of the hcp = hexagonal-close packed type which exhibits the most dense atomic packing possible. With a packing factor of 0.74, almost three-quarters of the space within the lattice is filled (cf Van Vlack, 1964, p.62). Secondly, quartz has no symmetry center, no planes of symmetry (mirror planes), and no well-developed planes of weakness (cleavage planes). These structural factors are manifested by the fact that single quartz crystals have conchoidal to sub-conchoidal fracture surfaces, similar to non-crystalline materials like glass or cold tar.

Hexagonal close-packed spheres

In addition, the incredible abrasion resistance of quartz is also a manifestation of the above-cited structural factors. The high abrasion resistance of quartz is revealed by an anecdotal story, entitled: "Quartz (flint) Nodules as Ship's Ballast and Grinding Balls". This story is one of several types of clickable documents listed near the bottom of this page.

QUARTZ CRYSTAL STRUCTURE, HANDEDNESS,
MORPHOLOGY, AND ORIENTATION

The purpose of the following brief section is to familiarize the reader with the physical attributes of quartz and to continue this "Primer on Quartz", which began with the above INTRODUCTION. The *physical approach* to defining and describing quartz employed herein is requisite to any level of understanding about the practical application and utilization of quartz crystals as field synchronization resonators (FSRs) for bathing, healing, and meditating. To utilize a sports analogy: I am hawking "Quartz Programs", SHOUTING: "Get your QUARTZ programs here! You can't tell the players without a program!" More fully: "If you don't read the program, you won't know the players, or understand their teamwork, and know what is really happening down on the playing field", which is deep inside a quartz crystal.

Quartz Crystal Structure and Handedness

Quartz is silicon dioxide, SiO₂, consisting of one part silicon and two parts oxygen. In spite of its simple binary composition, X-ray diffraction (XRD) investigations show quartz has a complex atomic structure. This complicated structure is comprised of silicon atoms, which lie on three inrterpenetrating hexagonal lattices, with the oxygen atoms grouped in a tetrahedral manner around the silicon atoms. The most basic structural unit of quartz, and all silicate minerals, is the (SiO₄) tetrahedral configuration. In SiO₂, each oxygen atom is shared with two silicon atoms; the (SiO₄) tetrahedra share each of their corner oxygen atoms and form a three-dimensional network. The three interpenetrating hexagonal lattices of silicon atoms have a spiral arrangement in the vertical direction in respect to each other. This complex, vertical, helical atomic structure is manifested by various forms of twinning and by the handedness of quartz.

Structure of -quartz (W. L. Bragg and W. Gibbs)

There are three types of handedness in quartz: 1) structural, 2) morphological, and 3) optical. The first involves the *internal geometry* of the silicate tetrahedra and their helical arrangement. The second concerns the *external geometry* (crystal form) of the bounding crystal faces and the third form of handedness concerns the direction of rotation of plane polarized light. (Ref. Frondel, 1962, pp. 12-17)

The following discussion is restricted to the second kind of handedness, morphological, because of space restrictions and certain complexities. Please refer to the reference cited for further technical discussion of quartz handedness.

Quartz Crystal Morphology and Handedness

Referring to the line drawings of quartz in the margins of this page, note that quartz occurs in two enantiomorphs: a left-handed form, shown in the left margin, and a right-handed form, shown in the right margin. Enantiomorphism is "... the relation between two identical but non-superposable object or mirror images (Frondel, 1962, p.12). These line drawings are oriented correctly, with the vertical axis (c axis) vertical on the page, which is the vertical face of your monitor as you read this line.

The geometrical form or morphology of a typical quartz crystal can be described as follows. The long axis is the vertical or c axis, which is bounded by (vertical) prism faces that are designated as m faces. Sometimes these prism faces are horizontally striated, i.e., they exhibit parallel lines as ridges or furrows. The typical quartz crystal also has a more-or-less regular hexagonal (six-sided) cross-section, defined by the horizontal a axes, perpendicular to the prism (m) faces. The ends of a crystal are called terminations. The faces comprising the terminations are called pyramid faces, designated r, s, x, z, a, etc. In between these pyramid faces and prism faces are the *determinant* faces for right- and left-handedness (z, s, and x) comprising the "bow ties" in the line drawings in the margins. The surface area of a typical quartz crystal is dominated by m and r faces, with a smaller area represented by z faces. The s and x faces normally comprise a very small percentage of the total surface area, if present at all. In other words, a typical quartz crystal doesn't usually have the "bow ties" seen in the line drawings.

Referring once again to these line drawings, please note that the diagnostic "bow ties" have different orientations on these two enantiomorphous crystal forms. As noted above, these "bow ties" are formed by z, s and x faces on the crystal terminations. The convention employed is that of Weiss (1816) which requires that "... a right-handed quartz crystal has the trigonal pyramid face, s, in the upper right corner of the prism face, m." In addition, "...striations, if any, on s slope upward to the right. The positive right trigonal trapezohedron, x, is similarly situated. The right trigonal prism, a (not shown), a very rare form in quartz would be situated along the prism (m) edge below the s and x faces. Opposite relations obtain in a left-handed quartz crystal." (Frondel, 1962, p. 14)

Quartz Crystal Orientation

When you hold a quartz crystal in your hand with the prism faces vertical, as shown in the margins, the crystal is oriented in its maximal energy configuration as a resonator. In short, a vertically-oriented quartz crystal is in its maximal energy configuration in relation to the Earth's Surficial Energy Field (ESEF). The ESEF is produced by the primary energy output of Mother Earth: Radius of the Earth waves. In fact, the vertical axis of the quartz unit cell is a *direct* function of Radius of the Earth waves! The ESEF is defined by the static and dynamic energy grids, which are produced by differential functions of Radius of the Earth waves and localized to the Earth's surface. In summary, when a typical quartz crystal is held vertically, its c axis is parallel with Radius of the Earth waves and the crystal is geometrically synchronized with the Earth's surficial energy field (ESEF). Please refer to the BEI paper, Appendix 1, pp. 15-20, and Appendix 3, pp. 27-34 for additional details.