Quartz & Precious Stones - ...(science use)

Palomar · 2004-05-06 13:45:53

*Two different missions tied together by this topic, so I'll start a new thread. In the "Gravity Probe B" thread, SBird mentions the use of quartz (thanks for the link and instructions to see the illustration of the probe!).

In that thread, SBird wrote: "After the spacer tube, there's the star scope. This was made of big blocks of solid, ultra pure quartz. No glue was used, the pieces were machined to super close tolerance and cleaned so well that they just atomically fused together when they were assembled so the entire star scope is one big piece of solid quartz."

I was curious about the mention of quartz. I know it's also used in watches and etc (or some watches, maybe not all).

http://www.spacedaily.com/news/genesis-04a.html]Genesis also uses precious stones. I'm not sure quartz is considered "precious," but anyway there's the reference to "pure materials such as diamond, gold, [silicon] and sapphire,"... [:edit: Genesis mission mentioned a month or two ago in "Heliopolis" thread]

I've been meaning to ask [anyone] about the role of precious stones and quartz, etc., in probes and the like, and this is a good time to ask. What is it about precious stones -- their conductive properties? Purities? -- which make them vital to missions like these?

I really am "green" about this topic (fair warning before replies are given :laugh: )

--Cindy

SBird · 2004-05-07 00:22:59

The reason you see such precious materials being used is that some of them have nice properties and so, since weight is at a premium and the costs are so high anyway, you might as well splurge on the good stuff.

quartz - not a precious material, per se - quartz is just ordinary, high purity glass that cooled more slowly and so has a crystalline structure. Quartz has very nice optical qualities and very predicatable thermal expansion. It passes all light from fairly deep in the IR down to about 190 nm in the UV which makes it ideal for lenses and such.

diamond - very hard, clear and the best thermal conductor in existence. It is also one of the best electrical insulators in existence and therefore makes a fine substrate for very expensive computer ships that need to be resistant to radiation damage.

gold - a very good conductor, doesn't oxidize or rust or react chemically with other materials. Many somsumer electronics have gold on the electrical contacts for this reason.

silicon - not a precious material, basically purified beach sand. It's used for making computer chips. In that capacity, it is the single most pure material on Earth by far. Modern semiconductor tech requires silicon that has impurities in the part per trillion range.

sapphire - actually just aluminum rust. emeralds and rubies are sapphire that has various impurities in it. Useful because it is very hard and has some good optical properties.

Palomar · 2004-05-07 08:54:43

emeralds and rubies are sapphire that has various impurities in it.

*Interesting...I didn't know that.

Genesis especially caught my attention in this regard. Usually articles for the layperson don't go into detail as to what the "entrails" consist of. They couldn't resist sharing the "goodies" being used, I guess. Hmmmm.

--Cindy

GCNRevenger · 2004-05-07 08:59:31

As our ability to make gem stones syntheticly improves here on Earth, the market for ones from space will shrink I imagine, if somebody wanted to mine them on a the Moon or somthing.

SBird · 2004-05-07 11:04:22

ecrasez - NASA loves to brag about the expensive innards of their spacecraft. In the otherwise virtually unreadable commercial spacecraft company fiction that was recently posted on another site, there was an interesting anecdote about reentry shields. NASA made a big deal about how much temperature and energy the reentry shields would have to withstand. It turns out that all the Apollo reentry shield was made out of was a honecomb grid filled with the equivalent to high grade bathroom caulk.

Although spinning stuff like that is impressive, I can't help but wonder if NASA is shooting itself in the foot these days with talk like that. The average layperson just sees NASA bragging about how it's sattelites are made of gold and diamonds and then wonders why we can't seem to get the national budget balanced.

Honestly, modern jet engines on a 747 or your computer processor have just as many fantastic and amazing materials in them these days as anything NASA makes. NASA would be well served, IMO to stop playing the dazzle card if they want people to stop complaining about how much money they soak up.

GCNR: ??? I think the discussion was less about space based gem manufacturing but rather the use of precious materials in space probes.

Palomar · 2004-05-07 12:08:54

ecrasez - NASA loves to brag about the expensive innards of their spacecraft. In the otherwise virtually unreadable commercial spacecraft company fiction that was recently posted on another site, there was an interesting anecdote about reentry shields. NASA made a big deal about how much temperature and energy the reentry shields would have to withstand. It turns out that all the Apollo reentry shield was made out of was a honecomb grid filled with the equivalent to high grade bathroom caulk.
Although spinning stuff like that is impressive, I can't help but wonder if NASA is shooting itself in the foot these days with talk like that. The average layperson just sees NASA bragging about how it's sattelites are made of gold and diamonds and then wonders why we can't seem to get the national budget balanced.
Honestly, modern jet engines on a 747 or your computer processor have just as many fantastic and amazing materials in them these days as anything NASA makes. NASA would be well served, IMO to stop playing the dazzle card if they want people to stop complaining about how much money they soak up.

*Hi SBird. I definitely see your points.

I should perhaps explain that I generally don't follow NASA technical documents ("entrail" specifics and etc.). Despite knowing of budget "situations" with NASA, I was under the impression that Genesis was an exception of sorts (and because of the nature of its mission -- solar); also, its gemstones seemed particularly pointed out in ways I generally don't see (or don't recall seeing; whichever the case may be) at internet sites.

--Cindy

P.S.: Interesting factoid you gave about the Apollo re-entry shields.

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#1 2004-05-06 13:45:53

Re: Quartz & Precious Stones - ...(science use)

#2 2004-05-07 00:22:59

Re: Quartz & Precious Stones - ...(science use)

#3 2004-05-07 08:54:43

Re: Quartz & Precious Stones - ...(science use)

#4 2004-05-07 08:59:31

Re: Quartz & Precious Stones - ...(science use)

#5 2004-05-07 11:04:22

Re: Quartz & Precious Stones - ...(science use)

#6 2004-05-07 12:08:54

Re: Quartz & Precious Stones - ...(science use)

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