Quartz Sand

Quartz Sand is the key ingredient in making Glass. It is usually found near bodies of water and is only found alone.
==History==
In 1839 the Frenchman Marc Antoine Augustin Gaudin succeeded in melting glass of pure quartz. Its advantage, compared to conventional, partially cristallized molten glass, was the fact that the melting point of quartz was much higher. Soon, it was used as a special glass (for example, in high-temperature thermometers), since it was extremely heat-resistant and highly UV-transparent. Moreover, its thermal expansion was very low. In 1888 Boys produced pure quartz glass. In 1929 the American clockmaker Warren Alvin Marrison of New Jersey invented the quartz watch.
==Did You Know That?==
As glass is becoming more and more important to different types of industry, the exploitation of quartz sand is constantly increasing too. In order to be transformed into glass, quartz has to go through a melting and cooling process in which the material has no time to form crystals. The advantage of quartz glass is its high melting point of 1,600° Celsius. This makes it very strong, transparent to UV-rays and resistant to massive temperature changes. It is therefore the ideal raw material for the production of windows and bottles.
==Products That Require Quartz Sand==
Name:	Year	Produced In:	Can Be Sold In:	Requires:
Glass	1900	Glassworks 	None 	1 Quartz Sand
Category:Surface Mining
Category:1900
Category:Glassworks
Category:1st Degree Material