Phantom crystal
Encyclopedia
Phantom quartz is a variety of quartz
, or "rock crystal", that, over the course of millions of years, forms over earlier rock crystals that already existed. It takes its name from the particular structure of its crystallization
: each crystal
displays the outlines of numerous smaller crystals, known as phantoms. It is found in Austria, Brazil, Madagascar, Switzerland, and the United States.
Like regular quartz, the chemical composition of phantom quartz is , and its hardness
is 7. The available forms of phantom quartz are crystal groups, single crystals, crystal points, touchstone, tumbled stones; as a jewelry gemstone, usually found in the form of as pendant. The crystallization is a trigonal crystal.
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
, or "rock crystal", that, over the course of millions of years, forms over earlier rock crystals that already existed. It takes its name from the particular structure of its crystallization
Crystallization
Crystallization is the process of formation of solid crystals precipitating from a solution, melt or more rarely deposited directly from a gas. Crystallization is also a chemical solid–liquid separation technique, in which mass transfer of a solute from the liquid solution to a pure solid...
: each crystal
Crystal
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is known as crystallography...
displays the outlines of numerous smaller crystals, known as phantoms. It is found in Austria, Brazil, Madagascar, Switzerland, and the United States.
Like regular quartz, the chemical composition of phantom quartz is , and its hardness
Mohs scale of mineral hardness
The Mohs scale of mineral hardness characterizes the scratch resistance of various minerals through the ability of a harder material to scratch a softer material. It was created in 1812 by the German geologist and mineralogist Friedrich Mohs and is one of several definitions of hardness in...
is 7. The available forms of phantom quartz are crystal groups, single crystals, crystal points, touchstone, tumbled stones; as a jewelry gemstone, usually found in the form of as pendant. The crystallization is a trigonal crystal.