<p>Two pieces of quartz people have given to me at different times have become gradually clear over the space of a few years. Previously they were very cloudy, translucent without any detail visible through them. Under a 10x hand lens they appeared to have numerous tiny inclusions or fracture scattered throughout. Now I am able to hold the specimens on a book and clearly read text through them.</p>
<p>What was the nature of the visual obstructions and what is the mechanism by which the obstructions disappeared?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-30T12:03:28.280Z
that is not the crystal changing that sounds more like the surface either being polished, cleaned, or oiled, which handling can do.
John
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-01T03:13:06.193Z
Some people that have quartz for mystic reasons report that they become cloudy when they hold them so there can perhaps be impurities that react to UV's or thermal energy and it can be the roughness too.
bandybabboon
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-13T12:54:04.800Z
@John I greatly doubt it was handling affecting the surface. I have depth perception which told me structures were internal. They were focusable with a hand lens and appeared in the same focal plane as other internal structures, notably fractures, when looking through the surface. Several "constellations" of these stuctures would form patterns, such as cross, that were easily recognisible from different faces or terminations.
Smartybartfast
<mineralogy>
Why and how do quartz crystals change from cloudy/translucent to clear/transparent?
Smartybartfast
# Why and how do quartz crystals change from cloudy/translucent to clear/transparent?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-09-30)

Two pieces of quartz people have given to me at different times have become gradually clear over the space of a few years. Previously they were very cloudy, translucent without any detail visible through them. Under a 10x hand lens they appeared to have numerous tiny inclusions or fracture scattered throughout. Now I am able to hold the specimens on a book and clearly read text through them.

What was the nature of the visual obstructions and what is the mechanism by which the obstructions disappeared?

**Tags:** mineralogy

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: that is not the crystal changing that sounds more like the surface either being polished, cleaned, or oiled, which handling can do.  
> **username_2**: Some people that have quartz for mystic reasons report that they become cloudy when they hold them so there can perhaps be impurities that react to UV's or thermal energy and it can be the roughness too.  
> **username_0**: @username_1 I greatly doubt it was handling affecting the surface. I have depth perception which told me structures were internal. They were focusable with a hand lens and appeared in the same focal plane as other internal structures, notably fractures, when looking through the surface. Several "constellations" of these stuctures would form patterns, such as cross, that were easily recognisible from different faces or terminations.  

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## 0 answers

