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Japan Developing Diamond-based Semiconductors
s spencer and others wrote in with submissions about Japan funding the development of diamond-based semiconductors to replace silicon chips. The main advantages of diamond include heat resistance and higher electrical resistance.
When I was at Auburn, we had Star Wars funding to look into this. We had created a diode that switched at 2000 celcius.
The idea was to have IC circuits right inside the rocket engines.
Keep in mind that this article was written in 1982. It talks about prices dropping from $60,000 per carat to $30,000 a carat. The colapse it predicts happened in the early '90s, and prices of "perfect" diamonds are now quoted around $5,000 per carat, and can be had for slightly over $1,500 per carat without much trouble. The article also talks about resale values of diamonds being 40% of their retail value. Today, diamonds 1 carat and smaller are essentially worthless. Large retail jewlery chains are still maintaining a significant markup, but that is steadily decreasing now that the public has greater access to wholesale diamonds.
.25 carat diamonds in a custom setting she designed. $900) I saw another guy buy a 2.9 carat diamond engagement ring for $3500. It wasn't flawless, but it was an excelent stone, and impractically large.
If she has to have a diamond (even after reading that article), do a little research and buy a loose stone from a wholesale vendor. It's not hard to find one, and you can get a local jewler to make you a very nice setting for $100-300. For two months salary these days, she can have a ring that will give her a workout. When I purchased my fiancee's ring (a 2.72 carat saphire with two