Q is for Quartz & Quern

Quartz and Quern both are stones with a great value.
Quartz is the most abundant and widely distributed mineral found at Earth’s surface. It is present and plentiful in all parts of the world. It forms at all temperatures. It is abundant in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks.  Quartz is one of the most useful natural materials. it is useful as a gemstone and also in the making of glass.  Quartz is one of the most well-known minerals on earth. It occurs in basically all mineral environments and is the important constituent of many rocks.

Haven’t we grown up seeing that quartz clock in our houses? Billions of people use quartz every day, but few realize it because the tiny crystals they use are hidden in their watches and clocks. But what do the clear or whitish crystal rocks found all over the world have to do with timekeeping?Quartz crystals maintain a precise frequency standard, which helps to regulate the movement of a watch or clock, thus making the timepieces very accurate. Quartz is also used in radios, microprocessors, and many other technological and industrial applications.
(inputs from live science)
 
  QUERN    
Quern a simple mill, a small gym, a natural resource.
One can make out any use of it.
It’s not seen these days but I’m sure many of our grandmothers and even mothers had used it.
It used to be a full-time home gym and full-time work to grind wheat grains in it to get wheat flour.
Quern is a simple manual mill for grinding wheat, rice, corn, millets to get its flour.
In Hindi its also called “chakki”

quern a simple hand mill for grinding corn, typically consisting of two circular stones, the upper of which is rotated or rubbed to and fro on the lower one.

It was a way to stay connected to nature with manual grinding.

 

Participating in  and Thanks, priya for suggesting and saving my Q.