Uranus and Neptune May Have "Oceans of Diamonds" 347
Third Position writes "Oceans of liquid diamond topped with solid 'icebergs' of the precious gems could be on Uranus and Neptune. The first-ever detailed research into the melting point of diamond found it behaves like water during melting and freezing — with its solid form floating on the liquid. A large diamond ocean on one or both of the planets could provide an explanation for an oddity they both share: unlike Earth, they do not have magnetic poles that match up with their geographical poles." The article doesn't mention what the pressures might be like in these outer-planets environments, but the researchers found that liquefying diamond requires 40 million times Earth's atmospheric pressure at sea level.
Much as I'd love to make a great pun about uranus. (Score:5, Interesting)
The possibilities of exploring the outer "ice giants" is massive. I think, at least. I may not even make the pun because I think the idea of exploring them is so interesting.
Submarines are designed to handle a test depth of maybe 1600 ft which means maybe 50 bar of pressure. At that pressure, the atmosphere of Uranus is a little below freezing. The gravity is less than Earth. I suspect that with correct ballasting you could make a metal sphere float in the atmosphere for quite some time by keeping the insides pressurized to a convenient atmospheric pressure. So sticking around for a while isn't hard.
I can't find any good information on the radiation environment there and if you could put humans in the little bubble circling Uranus.. um.. yeah, I lied above.
Re:For the dull knives in the drawer (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:motivation (Score:4, Interesting)
A) Diamonds are only expensive on earth because of artificial scarcity. If we could bring them back to earth by the spaceshipload, suddenly they wouldn't be worth very much. Apparently this is different than the nature of unobtanium.
B) Space flight is extremely expensive. If it turned out the moon were solid gold, and we could go there and bring it back a ton at a time, it still wouldn't be cost-effectice to go get it. It really does cost that much to go into space.
Re:Well, that's one way to get the space race movi (Score:4, Interesting)
I recall someone doing some maths and determined that if there were a mountain of gold bars on the moon it would not be economical to go get some. Same applies here I'd imagine, much moreso.
Life at 40 million atmospheres (Score:5, Interesting)
Hal Clement thought too small. Mesklin may be too low pressure for complex life.
One of the reasons earth is so amenable to life is that ice floats, so the oceans remain deep and liquid. The hydrocarbon oceans of Mesklin would be shallow and cold, a thin layer of liquid ammonia or methane over ices and clathrates. Thus they wouldn't serve as a moderator of temperature and reservoir of life the way Earths oceans have.
But if life based on crystalline carbon at millions of atmospheres is possible at all, it's all the more possible if the carbon-cycle resembles the water cycle on Earth.
Re:motivation (Score:4, Interesting)
Diamonds are only expensive on earth because of artificial scarcity
I don't think even that is the case anymore. Maybe in the past, and maybe that's why the present is where it is, where something has a perceived value that's arguably a great deal above it's actual or practical value. The diamond market goes to great lengths to maintain this public perception. The only diamonds that are scarce are large natural ones.
Heck, helium is fast becoming a scarce material, which is just weird to think about. But they're not making it anymore so I suppose.
Re:Much as I'd love to make a great pun about uran (Score:3, Interesting)
The problem isn't somuch the escape velocity required, as it is getting the fuel there. Look how much fuel it takes to get the shuttle out of the atmosphere. Compare that with the weight of the shuttle itself. Now imagine what it would take to launch that much fuel into orbit, if you were going to take it with you and use it to take off from Neptune after you landed.
Fusion drive probably wouldn't be any more useful there as it is here. Currently the most practical way to orbit is to trade mass at appreciable velocity, and the problem there is you usually want the mass you're trading to come from the same thing that's generating the velocity, and that'd be rocket fuel. Not much of that on Neptune unfortunately, or anything else with those two qualities.
Owell the first people to go there or mars or whatever are going to be permanent residents anyway. I'd still go though, given the opportunity - I doubt they'll have problems finding takers for that one when it comes up.
Re:can't you just make a diamond in the lab? (Score:5, Interesting)
Synthetic diamonds are for the most part, industrial grade which tends to be opaque unlike gem quality natural diamonds which are transparent, contain Nitrogen and don't fluoresce under UV like synthetic diamonds generally do. Synthetic diamonds are synthesized in rapid fashion which leaves two major crystal phases in the finished material which is responsible for the fluorescence under UV light. Any transparent synthetic diamonds tend to either be devoid of Nitrogen (crystal clear) or have a yellowish tinge to them caused by Nitrogen in the crystal. Natural diamonds have Nitrogen in them but they form in such long periods of time that there is only one major crystal phase in them and the Nitrogen has migrated to regions in the crystal in such a way as to leave the diamond clear instead of yellow. So yes diamonds can be synthesized cheaper than those dug out of the ground. However, they are not quite the same as of today's technology and can often be differentiated from natural diamonds because of minute differences in their characteristics.
Re:For the dull knives in the drawer (Score:5, Interesting)
Waht do yo mean, unlike earth? (Score:3, Interesting)
Earth's magnetic poles don't match the geographic poles. They pretty much never have, except by coincidence.
Re:Well, that's one way to get the space race movi (Score:3, Interesting)
I didn't mean legally joining, I meant aligning themselves with the overall philosophy and methods. I particularly like how the Canadians have their "Polar Ice Certification" to ensure that you get a real Canadian diamond, and not one of those crappy ones from somewhere else...
http://www.polaricediamonds.com/ [polaricediamonds.com]
Just to be pedantic... (Score:3, Interesting)
Stephenson's Diamond Age [powells.com] isn't about mined diamonds, it's about when we're so capable of satisfying our every need with nanotechnology, that diamonds are cheap and easily fabricated (with interesting societal implications)... by far, my favorite Stephenson book.
Re:Actually "Oceans of melted coal" (Score:3, Interesting)
The article is misleading (it appears that the author is himself confused).
There's only one liquid phase, and it's the same one between graphite and diamond. SpinyNorman's phase diagram graph shows it well. Look at "graphite + metastable diamond". There are diamonds at that temperature, although they'd "rather" be graphite, to anthropomorphise it. Then increase temperature by going directly to the right. It will first turn to graphite as it crosses the dashed line, then it will melt. Cool it down by going left and it turns to graphite, then keep going left back where you started and you've got...still graphite. Because that's still a region where graphite can exist.
What they're describing was pushing it up via high pressure, before going right and then left. In this case, you don't cross the graphite-only region in either direction, but the diamond region, so there's no graphite involved.
So? (Score:3, Interesting)
All the “worth” of diamonds is artificial anyway.
A diamond can easily be made and is worth a few cents. Tops. And it’s even of higher quality than anything nature has to offer.
The only people who still go “Ooohhh, diamonds!” are either very uninformed, or ignorant retards.
Re:can't you just make a diamond in the lab? (Score:3, Interesting)
I put $100 on “You”ve got that ‘information’ from the DeBeers website.” ^^
Re:can't you just make a diamond in the lab? (Score:1, Interesting)
That and the diamond industry will go after you until you are dead if you sell these diamonds on the market.