The diamond cutter sets his whirring wheel, dresses its edge with diamond dust and lubricant as it saws slowly into the big, water-clear crystal on the cutting stand. But the big crystal under the wheel is not a diamond. It is quartz, the most abundant of all minerals but a newly prized jewel of war. Once ground to size, it is the governor of ship, plane and tank communications, an indispensable monitor of the accuracy of range-finding instruments and fire-control devices.
The special ability of quartz crystals to generate an electric current when placed...
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