by Mike Davis? Are there any other books similar in subject to this one?
Quartz, like glass, is a relatively poor conductor of heat. The same thing happens when you take a shower on a cool day. The glass mirror in your bathroom is a poor conductor of heat. So when the room is cool, it takes a while for the mirror to warm up. When you take a shower, the air in the room has a high humidity. When the warm, humid air gets near the mirror, it cools slightly and the humidity condenses out of the air and form dew or a fog on the mirrors surface. The same thing happens to your quartz. It cools off at night, and when the warm, moist air during the day hits it, the water condenses on the side, pooling under the sample, or in the cracks. Buy a bell jar to put around your quartz sample. If the seal prevents humid air from getting to it, you will not have to worry about the water again.
