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Fun fact, the quartz is used to make the big crucibles where the silicon wafers crystallize by starting from a seed in the center which is slowly drawn upward.
by heleninboodler 3y ago
Fun fact, the quartz is used to make the big crucibles where the silicon wafers crystallize by starting from a seed in the center which is slowly drawn upward. My grandmother was a quartz salesperson for GE for decades (they sourced their quartz from this same company) and they make the crucibles. My grandma lived in a place with a small yard and her garden was planted in these very modern-looking quartz crucibles that were destined for chipmakers but had some tiny flaw on the inner surface so they couldn't be sold.
- harikb 3y agoI was very confused initially because you talked about 'seed' as well as a garden. Do you mean something like this? [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czochralski_method https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czochralski_method
- heleninboodler 3y agoYes, exactly.
- jonah 3y agoThat's neat! My uncle gave me a bunch of large electrical insulators from the old high-tension transmission lines heading West from Hoover Dam. They make great yard ornaments.
- samatman 3y agoQuartz singing bowls have historically been sourced from flawed crucibles. I don't know if that's still true exclusively or even primarily. Just always thought it was cool.