Quartz crystals!

[JAC]

What is it with this obsession for collecting stuff?

[doccybrown]

Hey this is a really good question!
Cannot remember we had a thread about this before,
only about why we are collecting chips (obsessively or not)...

Does not collect much stuff but friend of mine
has a sharpened Ninja-sword.
Asked him what he wants with that crap. Told me
its just cool to have one... (hope he will never
test it on me LOL)
I think collecting or having special items is a very
personal thing that reflects the own character.
It`s enjoying a passion. To generate excitement. Having thingys
to talk about with mates. If hunted a rare item for years it
turns into a trophy with story.
For me and rare CPUs it is like: Hey! What`s that? Pulse speeds up,
adrenaline and happiness hormones are produced, giving a nice little
kick, need more, yeah completely addicted!
A rare phat megaloid-quartz would fit perfectly between my other
strange stuff I`m using as decoration...

[doccybrown]

This is another interesting type of artificial crystals:
Neodymium doped Yttrium-Aluminum-garnets!!!
The cut rods are the main component of powerful lazers.
No must have at all (and quite expensive....)

[Wizzard1]

Doccy, do you HAVE any of those???

[treasurefinder]

I've seen and handled pieces of quartz like the OP started this thread with. I've also bought and sold a few NdYag rods over the years, just little teeny ones. There are also "slugs" of IC wafer material that show up from time to time, I think it'd be hilarious to take some and chip it into arrowheads.

[max3]

as far as i remember, purest quartz can not be manufactured(grown) or harvested on earth, they do "special" quarts in ISS on orbit, once done it is delivered to earth for experiments.