[LINK] Two Historic (& related) Videos about Quartz Crystals just listed on YouTube

[Ross Kelso]

1) "A Story of Quartz" is a Cinesound Review newsreel made by Cinesound Productions for the Department of Information, Commonwealth of Australia, probably not long after 1945. Go to 
http://youtu.be/b_MUBbLRy9g

The presence of quartz crystals in one of the dumps of an old gold mine, known as Black Charlie's mine, in the Strathbogie Ranges (at Tallangalook, near Mansfield, Victoria) led to the re-opening of part of the workings in the search for crystal suitable for piezo-electric applications in radio receivers and transmitters during World War II. It was then re-named the Crystal King mine.

The project was conducted by a syndicate of five members, two of whom (Bob Terry and Ed Hughes) were engaged in mining the crystal deposits. Another member of the syndicate, Jack Willey prepared the finished piezo-electric plates from the recovered crystal at the premises of Quartz Crystal Laboratory (a subsidiary of John Browning Pty Ltd, a firm of opticians) in Melbourne, Victoria. A 1945 government geological report on the Crystal King mine can be found at http://www.ga.gov.au/metadata-gateway.... 



2) The "Crystal Clear" short video was made one month before the 1985 Telecom Research Laboratories (TRL) Open Day.  Go to http://youtu.be/_DKtt1H2TxM

The video was made at Telecom Video Productions (TVP), then located in Kingsway, Melbourne by David Sutton, David Battle and with Cyril Jones as narrator/producer/director.  It comprises segments taken (in sequence) from 'Unedited Mine Shots' filmed at Woods Point, Victoria, from a Cinesound Review newsreel titled "A Story of Quartz" about the Crystal King mine in the Strathbogie Range, near Mansfield, Victoria and mainly at the Telecom Research Laboratories quartz crystal workshop, then located at Clayton, Melbourne.  

The piezo-electric property of properly engineered quartz crystals enables them to provide fixed frequency oscillation so essential in radio transmitters, receivers, digital watches and many items of scientific equipment.  The Telecom Research Laboratories were probably undertaking this work to support the National Time & Frequency Standard.

Cheers

Ross Kelso