We all think we know quartz, and can recognise it, but it has possibly greater variation than any other mineral. First, it is only one of several different silica minerals made of only silicon and oxygen, linked together in the proportions of two oxygen atoms per silicon atom, hence the chemical formula SiO2. The other minerals, with identical chemical composition are tridymite and cristobalite (both high temperature minerals) and coesite and stishovite (both high pressure minerals). There is...
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