Diamonds: Synthetic Diamonds

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The New Diamond Age: Past, Present, and Future of Synthetic Diamonds Abstract Diamonds have recently become more useful over the past 50 years, and advances in man-made production of diamonds have opened the doors to more applications of this wonderful mineral. It is becoming more evident that man-made diamonds will take us into a new diamond age where synthesized diamonds will have more uses in our day-to-day lives. Body Diamonds through out the centuries have been sought after for their beauty. In the first century AD, the Roman naturalist Pliny stated, “Diamond is the most valuable, not only of precious stones, but of all things in this world.” However, the diamond’s origin was not discovered until 1772 when the French scientist Antoine Lavoisier bought a diamond, placed it in a glass jar and focused suns rays on the diamond with a giant magnifying glass and suddenly observed the diamond begin to burn (Stewart). Dr. Doug Stewart stated that it was because of this experiment that Lavoisier was able to conclude that, “…diamond and charcoal were made of the same element-carbon.” In nature, diamonds are formed under high pressure and deep within the earth over long phases of time. According to author R. S. Balmer et. al., “The genesis of natural diamond is believed to occur at depths of around 200 km, corresponding to pressures and temperatures of 70-80 kbar and 1400-1600°C” (3). These conditions occur naturally in a few places on earth; the first, and more abundant and likely, if formed in the lithosphere below the continental plates, and the second occurs site of a meteorite strike (Carlson, 248). Diamond-bearing rock can be transported from the lithosphere to the Earth's surface through volcanic eruptions, which form very deep within the earth. This takes place when small surface volcanic craters extend downward in formations known as volcanic pipes

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