Synthetic minerals are artificial minerals, such as synthetic diamond, synthetic piezoelectric quartz and synthetic ruby, that are made in factories or laboratories and have similar properties of the natural minerals. Because natural minerals are rare and the demand for them cannot be met, people have begun to simulate the physical and chemical formation conditions of these minerals and synthesize these minerals by artificial means. For example, quartz has a piezoelectric effect, and thin directionally cut quartz plates have been used extensively in the industrial electronics sector. Since 1947, when artificial piezoelectric quartz was first created in the laboratory, abundant transparent and useful quartz crystals have been produced for industrial use. Currently, all optical and industrial quartz crystals are synthetic. Synthetic diamonds are also widely used in drilling and cutting tools and in the electronics and gem industries due to their hardness, semiconducting properties and...
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(2020). Synthetic Mineral. In: Chen, A., Ng, Y., Zhang, E., Tian, M. (eds) Dictionary of Geotourism. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2538-0_2401
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2538-0_2401
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