Sample of rock

Name and use:

Obsidian Rock: Obsidian is an igneous rock that forms when molten rock material cools so
rapidly that atoms are unable to arrange themselves into a crystalline structure. It is an
amorphous material known as a "mineraloid." The result is a volcanic glass with a smooth
uniform texture that breaks with a conchoidal fracture

The conchoidal fracture of obsidian causes it to break into pieces with curved surfaces.
This type of fracturing can produce rock fragments with very sharp edges. These sharp
fragments may have prompted the first use of obsidian by people.

The first use of obsidian by people probably occurred when a sharp piece of obsidian
was used as a cutting tool. People then discovered how to skilfully break the obsidian to
produce cutting tools in a variety of shapes. Obsidian was used to make knives,
arrowheads, spear points, scrapers, and many other weapons and tools.
Once these discoveries were made, obsidian quickly became the raw material of
preference for producing almost any sharp object. The easy-to-recognize rock became
one of the first targets of organized "mining." It is probably a safe bet that all natural
obsidian outcrops that are known today were discovered and utilized by ancient people.

Sample of mineral

Name and use:

Quarts: Quartz crystal is found in many countries and many geologic
environments. Major producers of natural quartz crystals are the United States
(particularly Arkansas) and Brazil. Natural quartz is rarely used as found in
nature (especially in electrical applications), except as a gemstone. Natural
quartz crystals have too many chemical impurities and physical flaws. As a
result, a commercial process of manufacturing pure, flawless, electronics-grade
quartz was developed. “Cultured quartz,” that is, quartz crystals grown very
carefully in highly controlled laboratory conditions, is the quartz that is used in
industry. About 200 metric tons of cultured quartz is produced each year. In the
production of cultured quartz crystals, a “seed crystal” is needed. A seed crystal
is a small piece of carefully selected, non-electronics-grade quartz. The
manufactured crystal grows on this seed crystal.
Use:
Quartz crystal is one of several minerals which are piezoelectric, meaning that
when pressure is applied to quartz, a positive electrical charge is created at one
end of the crystal and a negative electrical charge is created at the other. These
properties make quartz valuable in electronics applications. Electronics-grade
manufactured quartz is used in a large number of circuits for consumer
electronics products such as computers, cell phones, televisions, radios,
electronic games, etc. It is also used to make frequency control devices and
electronic filters that remove defined electromagnetic frequencies.