Refractory
What Is Fused Quartz?
What Is Fused Quartz?
Fused quartz is a type of glass that is created by melting crystalline silica in an amorphous form. It can be made using both electrically fused and flame-fused methods. The end product can be transparent, translucent or opaque.
Fused quartz comes from a number of different sources: naturally occurring, man-made and synthetically produced. The main natural source for fused quartz is quartz, which can be found in crystalline form in sand or rock. Crystalline quartz is the most common form of quartz and is used for a variety of purposes including jewelry and decorative items.
Quartz can also be made from gaseous silicon containing chemicals that are burned in the presence of oxygen to create an amorphous material called silicon dioxide (SiO2). This is then cooled and shaped into many different shapes.
One such shape is the crucible, which is typically used in high-temperature thermal processes like steelmaking and investment casting. It is strong and durable, chemically inert to most acids and compounds, and has excellent thermal shock resistance.
The crucible can be shaped into any shape or design desired, and it is often used to produce refractory shapes for a wide range of industrial applications. These refractory shapes include trays, shrouds and rollers for furnaces, furnace doors and other types of refractory equipment.
Compared to other forms of glass, fused quartz has very little impurities, which makes it ideal for a wide variety of applications. Its amorphous structure allows for extremely high working temperatures, and it is able to be formed, cooled and annealed without the risk of crystallizing.
It is the starting material for fiber optics and a variety of optical components such as lenses, mirrors and UV and IR transmitting optics. Optical systems that use fused quartz are highly durable, and can be used for many years without breakage or degradation.
Fused quartz is transparent to a wide range of wavelengths, extending well into the ultraviolet and near-mid infrared. However, it can also absorb infrared light if water is present or if the manufacturing process contains impurities that reduce transmission.
As a result, the transparency region is quite broad, but it depends on the quality of the glass and the impurities that are in it. In particular, if aluminum and titanium are present in the glass, they can affect transmission in the UV and infrared. If water is present, hydroxyl groups can also be present and reduce transmission in the UV.
In addition, a large portion of the luminous flux is lost by the amorphous nature of the fused glass, so it must be manufactured carefully. It is very important that the purity of the quartz must be high, as too much metallic impurity can affect performance.
Fused quartz is an ideal raw material for a large variety of industrial equipment and applications, such as semiconductors, glass manufacturing and laboratory testing. Its combination of unique thermal, mechanical and optical properties makes it a versatile and cost-effective choice. It can be used for a wide range of manufacturing processes and is available in many sizes, shapes and colors.
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