DailyDirt: Diamonds, Diamonds Everywhere
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
Creating artificial diamonds could lead to some really interesting semiconductor materials -- or even some insanely hard touchscreen displays (no more scratches!). Fortunately, synthesizing diamond-like materials is getting cheaper and easier, but at the same time, we've also discovered significantly large diamond deposits. But will diamonds still be included in engagement rings when the market prices plummet? Aluminum used to be the most expensive metal in the world... but it's no longer as highly regarded as it once was. Here are just a few links on one of our favorite allotropes of carbon.
- Forget OxiClean. The "power of diamonds" can help clean away tough stains in every laundry load. Nanodiamond particles in laundry detergents can dislodge dirt from fabrics without using hot water -- saving energy and adding some sparkle. [url]
- There's a recently de-classified deposit of impact diamonds in Russia -- and it's so big that it's estimated that this resource could serve the world's diamond needs for 3,000 years. These impact diamonds are twice as hard as traditional gemstones because they're formed when a carbon-rich meteor collides with the earth and the resulting explosion creates this unique material. [url]
- Diamonds aren't as rare as most people think they are -- if you're willing (or able) to travel a few thousand light years, you can find a whole planet made of diamond. A carbon-rich planet that is probably crystalline (and hence diamond-like) orbits the pulsar J1719-1438, and it's the most dense planet seen so far. [url]






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supply-demand economics
Firstly, diamond quality matters.
And secondly, the diamond market has to contend with the excessive weight of De Beers Group. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamonds_as_an_investment#Price_fluctuations
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Is It True Diamonds Cannot Scratch Iron Or Steel?
(Steel is already an iron-carbon mixture.)
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If it weren't for the diamond cartels controlling the supply, you'd spend more for a same-size, same quality Herkimer quartz than you would for a diamond, based on rarity alone.
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Re: If it weren't for the diamond cartels ...
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except, as usual your probably WRONG, Diamond is less stable that graphite (carbon in another form) so a planet would most probably form as a graphite planet not Diamond..
"and it's the most dense planet seen so far".. !!!! SO WHAT, that would make a difference if diamond as a particularly dense material.. it's about half the density as IRON.. so why try to make the argument that 'it's dense, therefore it's diamond'...
carbon steel, is rich in carbon, it has a crystaline structure and is twice the density of diamond is far more abundant in the universe..
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really? wow, some of you people...
Even of it were orbiting further out, planetary mechanics would suggest that the core is generally molten, which, again, reduces the density significantly. Except diamonds don't melt, and carbonaceous steel does. Graphite wouldn't be stable that close to an active star, either.
Read the damn articles. You're giving Anonymous a bad name.
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Re: except, as usual your probably WRONG, Diamond is less stable that graphite
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Re: Re: except, as usual your probably WRONG, Diamond is less stable that graphite
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A planet made of diamonds?
http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Midnight
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Re: Is It True Diamonds Cannot Scratch Iron Or Steel?
The diffusion of carbon into iron (to make steel) requires high temperatures, and probably wouldn't happen with diamond anyway since the carbon it tightly bound.
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Re:
http://arstechnica.com/science/2011/08/neutron-star-has-turned-its-companion-into-a-planet-of-di amond/
Continue to hurr and durr for my amusement.
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Re: really? wow, some of you people...
and DIAMONDS DO MELT (pressure dependent)..
GRAPHITE is MORE STABLE THAN DIAMOND
"Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions."
Dont take up science for a career, it's not your 'thing'..
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Re: Re: except, as usual your probably WRONG, Diamond is less stable that graphite
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Re: Is It True Diamonds Cannot Scratch Iron Or Steel?
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