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T
thatbloke
b jvdwkp
S
Snickers180
Give it a go , perhaps then you can afford that 4x4 you always wanted.
Obviously I did hit a raw nerve.
T
thatbloke
bvhado bhaduqo bvha
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Are they blood Diamonds, or snap-tackle ones?
T
thatbloke
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Thats Ok then. Never liked the snap-tackle ones
T
thatbloke
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Indeed, you can even grow YOUR OWN diamonds or one from your dearly departed.... http://www.lifegem.com/
Can you grow diamonds? Yes, but it's not easy. I saw that episode of Bang Goes the Theory. I also saw an episode of Horizon a few years ago which went into the nitty-gritty of growing much bigger diamonds.
It isn't easy because the diamond crystal structure (tetrahedral) will only form under immense pressure. Moreover, the existing hexagonal crystals (graphite) have to be broken first by dissolving them in something. Now there aren't many solvents for carbon but one that works is molten iron. By now you're probably thinking that you won't be doing this at home.
It is now possible to grow diamonds that are every bit as good as natural ones and the day cannot be far off when it will not be possible to tell the difference.
NB: This:
http://www.lifegem.com/
is an outright scam! They show you a picture of a big fat diamond then offer to "create a diamond from the carbon in a lock of hair". Just how much carbon do they think there is in a lock of hair?
I saw that episode of Bang Goes the Theory. I also saw an episode of Horizon a few years ago which went into the nitty-gritty of growing much bigger diamonds.It isn't easy because the diamond crystal structure (tetrahedral) will only form under immense pressure. Moreover, the existing hexagonal crystals (graphite) have to be broken first by dissolving them in something. Now there aren't many solvents for carbon but one that works is molten iron. By now you're probably thinking that you won't be doing this at home.
It is now possible to grow diamonds that are every bit as good as natural ones and the day cannot be far off when it will not be possible to tell the difference.
NB: This:
http://www.lifegem.com/
is an outright scam! They show you a picture of a big fat diamond then offer to "create a diamond from the carbon in a lock of hair". Just how much carbon do they think there is in a lock of hair?
H
Heat4input
Interesting stuff.Can anyone remember a programme about a guy that made substance out of hairspray and other stuff then took it to NASA to be tested?I recall they shot at laser at it but it bounced the laser straight back up the laser firer and damaged it?
As well as the traditional pressure approach it's also possible to grow diamonds by chemical vapour deposition. IIRC this allows very perfect diamond to be produced and allows the diamond to be produced in large flat wafers (good for electronics) or as a surface coating but it's very slow compared to the traditional means of using high pressure.
plugwash said:
You learn something new every day.
That explains how they managed to produce microscopic diamonds in an acetylene flame. (I missed the start of the programme. )The wafer idea is very interesting because, if you dope it with boron or nitrogen, you have a new semiconductor.
The first semiconductors were based on germanium but it was apparent from the start that silicon would be better. The difficulties involved in processing pure silicon were enormous but they were overcome so I've no doubt that diamond based devices will follow eventually.
matt1e said:
I'd forgotten the name but I remember the Tomorrow's World programme. You sprayed it on and it formed a foam, a bit like polyurethane. but the clever bit happened when you tried to burn it. It carbonized but didn't crumble into charcoal as you might expect. It held its shape and, because it was nearly all gas bubbles, it acted as a very effective insulator.
No explanation was given at the time (of course) but I followed the link and it mentioned borates. That made me think of the borax bead experiment that we did in the school chemistry lab. You dipped a wire loop into borax and stuck it in a bunsen flame, whereupon it formed a hard, glassy bead which resisted any attempt to burn it. Now imagine that same hard, glassy material left behind as a foam after the organic parts have burnt away. I think that would do the trick.
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