quartz | Definition, Types, Uses, amp; Facts | Britannica
Quartz, widely distributed mineral of many varieties that consists primarily of silica, or silicon dioxide (SiO 2).Minor impurities such as lithium, sodium, potassium, and titanium may be present. Quartz has attracted attention from the earliest times; waterclear crystals were known to the ancient Greeks as krystalloshence the name crystal, or more commonly rock crystal, applied to this