A 32 kHz quartz crystal is a piece of quartz that has been cut and polished to vibrate at 32,000 times per second. Quartz crystals are used in a variety of electronic devices, including watches, clocks, radios, and computers.

A quartz crystal is analogous to a tuning fork in that it can be used to create a stable, precise frequency. Quartz crystals are used in watches and clocks to keep time, in radios to tune to a specific station, and in computers to maintain a stable clock speed.

A quartz crystal is piezoelectric, meaning that it produces a voltage when it is subjected to mechanical stress. This property is exploited in a number of ways, including in watches (where the crystal oscillates in response to the movement of the watch) and in microphones (where the crystal produces a voltage in response to sound waves).