A New Technique For Creating Diamonds Discovered

schwit1 writes: In discovering a new solid state for carbon scientists have also discovered that it is a relatively inexpensive way to produce diamonds. The researchers have found that, depending on the substrates, tiny diamonds will form within the Q-carbon, suggesting that they have actually discovered how diamonds are formed deep below the Earth. The hot high pressure environment there allows Q-carbon to naturally form, and in the process of its solidification diamonds are a byproduct. According to Gizmag: "Professor Jay Narayan of North Carolina State University is the lead author of three papers describing the work that sees Q-carbon join the growing list of carbon solids, a list that includes graphite, graphene, fullerene, amorphous carbon and diamond. He has suggested that the only place Q-carbon might be found in the natural world is in the core of certain planets. The researchers created Q-carbon by starting with a thin plate of sapphire (other substrates, such as glass or a plastic polymer, will also work). Using a high-power laser beam, they coated the sapphire with amorphous carbon, a carbon form with no defined crystalline structure. They then hit the carbon with the laser again, raising its temperature to about 4,000 Kelvin, and then rapidly cooled, or quenched, the melted carbon. This stage of quenching is where 'Q' in Q-carbon comes from."

Comments

Women's reaction to protential a price drop

[batistuta]

Women always want diamonds because they are "beautiful". If their price drops to the floor, I wonder whether they will still like them on their wedding rings. Truth is, most women don't care about what they wear, as long as they have the feeling that you bought them something special. And if their friends envy them, then it's even better.

Re:Women's reaction to protential a price drop

[ShanghaiBill]

Women always want diamonds because they are "beautiful".

No. They want them as a demonstration of their potential mate's commitment and willingness to expend resources. Peacocks grow big tail feathers. Men buy diamonds. The reason is the same.

If their price drops to the floor, I wonder whether they will still like them on their wedding rings.

Of course not. A cubic zirconium gem looks just as good as a diamond, yet few women would knowingly accept a CZ engagement ring.

Re:Women's reaction to protential a price drop

[labnet]

Women always want diamonds because they are "beautiful". If their price drops to the floor, I wonder whether they will still like them on their wedding rings. Truth is, most women don't care about what they wear, as long as they have the feeling that you bought them something special. And if their friends envy them, then it's even better.

Good summary. A woman is actually looking to be valued which requires the man to suffer pain. Pain in researching, pain in the wallet. Flowers are similar. For example, flowers from a service station are much less valuable than flowers from a florist, even though the product might be very similar. The service station is convenient and cheap; so the woman perceives your love for her as convenient and cheap.
I'm not saying this is bad thing; it is just the way most women are wired.

Re: deBeers will buy them out.

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

Why diamond rather than gold? The value density is a little bit lower(assuming a decent quality stone); but metals tend to have a much, much, smaller gap between purchase price and sale price at any given time; can be divided if necessary without reducing their value, and are similarly imperishable, fairly hard to trace, and likely to have a buyer available almost anywhere.

As an 'investment', gold has a pretty tepid history; but at least you can actually buy and sell at reasonably close to the nominal market price, rather than eating a large automatic loss the moment you buy.