General Knowledge - General Science - Discussion

Why is the quartz used in watches?

Quartz is crystalline-di-oxide.

Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula SiO2, most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms.

Please, anyone, give the clear explanation.

Thank you.

Chemically, quartz is a compound called silicon dioxide.

When a crystal of quartz is properly cut and mounted, it can be made to vibrate, or oscillate, using an alternating electric current; each oscillation, in turn, causes a voltage change across the crystal, which can be detected by a suitable electronic circuit. The frequency at which the crystal oscillates is dependent on its shape and size, and the positions at which electrodes are placed on it.

If the crystal is accurately shaped and positioned, it will oscillate at the desired frequency; in clocks and watches, the frequency is usually 32,768 Hz, as a crystal for this frequency is conveniently small, and as this frequency is a power of two and can easily be counted using a 15-bit binary digital counter.

SiO2 makes nonpolar bonds, it's so easy to move in all directions.

Silicate - derived from silica which is a component of glass.

Like all crystals that are formed through oxidation or for some reason a high-pressure gas, quartz is also the same.

Therefore dioxide comes next to its chemical composition.