SLAC Experiment Proves It Rains Diamonds On Uranus and Neptune (cosmosmagazine.com) 114
The Washington Post reports:
On Uranus and Neptune, scientists forecast rain storms of solid diamonds. The gems form in the hydrocarbon-rich oceans of slush that swath the gas giants' sold cores. Scientists have long speculated that the extreme pressures in this region might split those molecules into atoms of hydrogen and carbon, the latter of which then crystallize to form diamonds. These diamonds were thought to sink like rain through the ocean until they hit the solid core. But no one could prove that this would really work -- until now.
Cosmos reports: The Matter in Extreme Conditions instrument at SLAC gives scientists the tools to investigate the extremely hot, dense matter at the centers of stars and giant planets... A team led by Dominik Kraus from the Helmholtz Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf research centre in Germany subjected plastic to shockwaves by exposing it to the intense energy produced by SLAC's X-ray free-electron laser, known as the Linac Coherent Light Source. The experiment caused almost all the carbon atoms in the plastic to combine into diamond-like structures a few nanometers wide... Astronomers think that the forces at work deep in the frozen mantles of Uranus and Neptune are likely so powerful that each of the diamonds formed could weigh millions of carats. It is also possible that the solid cores of both planets are coated with a thick diamond outer layer.
The experiment also suggests an easier (and cleaner) way to produce diamonds in a lab, which can then be used for semiconductors, drill bits and solar panels.
Cosmos reports: The Matter in Extreme Conditions instrument at SLAC gives scientists the tools to investigate the extremely hot, dense matter at the centers of stars and giant planets... A team led by Dominik Kraus from the Helmholtz Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf research centre in Germany subjected plastic to shockwaves by exposing it to the intense energy produced by SLAC's X-ray free-electron laser, known as the Linac Coherent Light Source. The experiment caused almost all the carbon atoms in the plastic to combine into diamond-like structures a few nanometers wide... Astronomers think that the forces at work deep in the frozen mantles of Uranus and Neptune are likely so powerful that each of the diamonds formed could weigh millions of carats. It is also possible that the solid cores of both planets are coated with a thick diamond outer layer.
The experiment also suggests an easier (and cleaner) way to produce diamonds in a lab, which can then be used for semiconductors, drill bits and solar panels.
Re:Intrinsic value of diamonds (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Intrinsic value of diamonds (Score:5, Insightful)
Hell, it was stupid before they could be made in a lab. If they were serious about starting a life together, they'd both rather he put the money towards a down payment on a house.
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I am well aware of why they want them. It's just not rational.
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The only thing keeping diamond mining afloat is their use a gemstone and a clever bit of marketing by the diamond companies to convince stupid young men that they need to fork over thousands of dollars for something that can be made for a few dollars in a lab.
Check out this submission [slashdot.org] about how a YouTuber is being sued by Brilliant Earth Jewelry for proving that their Canadian-certified diamonds are untrackable and may be blood diamonds from Africa. A fascinating story.
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For "proving" they "may be"?
Sounds scientific.
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> clever bit of marketing by the diamond companies to convince stupid young men that they need to fork over thousands of dollars for something that can be made for a few dollars in a lab.
The "stupid young men" may be the ones buying those diamonds, but ultimately when it comes down to it, it's not them who decide they "need" them.
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Re:Intrinsic value of diamonds (Score:5, Funny)
These stupid young men understand that the only thing that matters is passing along their jeans to the most desirable, genetically perfect mate and diamonds are a means to that end.
I don't know what the hell diamonds have to do with it, I just drop off my old jeans at Goodwill or some similar store if I want to pass them on to someone else.
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The difference maybe being that the peacock hen does not require the peacock after mating anymore, so him being able to waste all that energy on having that impressive feathers (and her choosing this trait) makes sense, since she would not benefit at all from him being able to sustain himself and possibly her.
It's kinda different in a species where both, male and female, are kinda expected to provide for the offspring. And behold, you will not find this kind of behaviour in any species where this is the cas
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Thank you. Since I learned English in a school that focused on international trade rather than biology, that wasn't really a key element of my education. I hope it still got the point across sufficiently.
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Problems being that it's not terribly clear who or what is a "genetically perfect mate".
For instance, the question of whether she'll even FIT in my jeans if I give them to her has got to be up there.
And never mind whether my jeans are still in style or not. Or will be next year, after I pass them along to her....
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Any woman that demands a see-through rock in order to procreate has no business passing her gene's at all.
My Wife isn't hung up on jewelry and we will be celebrating 20 years together Sept 1st.
Re:Intrinsic value of diamonds (Score:5, Insightful)
Want to know the real value of diamonds? Try to sell one.
Are going / Are currently (Score:3)
Lab made diamonds are going to be indistinguishable from natural ones to any casual observer (and probably many trained ones as well) and far less expensive.
Not "are going". Just "are".
As of 2017, lab-grown diamonds aren't used for science only anymore.
You can actually buy rings containing lab-grown diamonds.
And indeed, lab grown diamonds' chemical structure is literally the same as mined diamonds' - in both case it's the same exact dense crystal of carbon atoms - and thus they have virtually the same chemico-physical properties.
Only the small variations present in the diamonfs (like imperfections, extra doping elements, etc.) aren't exactly the same in both ty
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It's not the gems themselves that cost the money, its the cutting process. It's a very time consuming manual process that takes a lot of training. You can buy one of those big ol' slabs of lab diamond, but good luck paying someone to cut them and ending up significantly below cost of buying a precut one from a wholesaler.
The people who made lab diamonds economical are doing extremely well for themselves, but the price isn't going to tank substantially until someone automates the cutting process.
Marketing (Score:2)
I figure if clear gem diamonds actually cost a few bucks to make in a lab, we'd be able to buy it for less than 5k$ / carat from china.
Marketing.
Try to get a *non-chemistry geek* girl friend to accept the idea of a lab-grown engagement ring.
Even if you can produce lab-grown diamond that are "more perfect" (better color, less structural defects) than mined, at 1/4 of the price on the final ring (last time I checked), she'll be somehow persuaded that these are "different" and "not the real deal".
Then even have a look at the "big brands", like Tiffany, Cartier, etc. who sell you even more expensive rings - still the same quality of diamond in
diamond source (Score:2)
Last time I was looking up lab-created diamonds they still seemed absurdly expensive. At best I've seen quarter or half the price of mined diamonds, not 1/10. Where do you get your diamond prices from?
I was comparing both extreme of the range :
On one hand the 1:4 priced lab grown diamonds that you can find in a few on-line shops that specialize in cheap lab diamonds (the one you mention having seen).
Compared to the over-expensive marked-up things from big brands (the Tiffany, Cartier, etc.) who sell you the whole "experience of entering [brand's name] shop".
They have marketing department that are even more devilish than Apple and have managed to persuade a sizeable portion of the population that it's wor
Since when we are able to grow large ones in lab? (Score:1)
Since when we are able to grow large ones in lab? Link please.
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Here it goes, down the drain.
How exactly does it go down the drain when we don't even have the ability to live next door on the moon ? Let alone go to Uranus and Neptune, battle the supersonic winds, the radiation and then plunge into the atmosphere to get hold of those diamonds. The cost of such a mission would be several orders of magnitude more than all the diamonds we could possibly harvest.
In other terms, getting those diamonds is for all intents and purposes a pipe dream. If we don't die out before because of antropogenic climate
SLACers (Score:2)
I always hear "this star is made of diamond" or "some such astronomical thing is diamonds" Having a metric crapton of carbon in one spot is not necessarily a diamond, is it? If you took a scoop of the "diamond rain" from Neptune and put it at earth room temperature/pressure, would it stay as a crystal or would it become a gas?
Also my new favorite measurement qualifier is "Earth Room". To differentiate it from a "Neptune Room" or a "Mars Room".
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Hey, didn't you read what he just wrote?
He's an Earth moron.
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Diamonds form when the carbon is under intense pressure. Then the atomic electron bonds are forced into a tetrahedral shape rather than regular hexagons like graphite or 3D shapes like buckyballs. Atmospheric temperature at the visible surface is -218C. Temperature at the icy rock core is 5100C. Inbetween it is possible there are altitudes where temperature and pressure are enough for water to form:
http://www.dailyastronomynews.... [dailyastronomynews.com]
http://inspirehep.net/record/8... [inspirehep.net]
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Atmospheric temperature at the visible surface is -218C. Temperature at the icy rock core is 5100C. Inbetween it is possible there are altitudes where temperature and pressure are enough for water to form:
Uranus and especially Neptune likely have a vast ocean of ammonia solution (not too far from industrial strength household cleaner). It's water, Jim, but not as we know it..
They're called ice planets, but that's the astronomical definition of ice, which doesn't mean frozen water or even solid, but anything made of compound molecules. Hydrogen/helium = gas, compound molecules = ice, anything else = metal. Diamonds here count as metal to astronomers. Thus the largely gaseous and partially liquid ice gia
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That's why you should try to keep chemists away from astronomy meetings.
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Citation? I found this [cosmoquest.org] which means solid to me:
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"My God Jim, the entire oceans of this planet are made out of household drain cleaner!".
That explains why the planet is the same colour as a bottle of Roto-Rooter or Dranex.
Re:SLACers (Score:4, Interesting)
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Auther C. Clarke speculated
Who the heck is Auther C. Clarke? Read your affiliate links before posting at least please.
Re:SLACers (Score:5, Funny)
Who the heck is Auther C. Clarke? Read your affiliate links before posting at least please.
Being an Arthur myself, I have observed that it's a simple name that a lot of people have problems spelling. I have seen Auther, Athor, Artur, Authur, Ator, and countless other variations.
It's so bad that I'm contemplating naming my firstborn Cholmondeley so he won't have to deal with this.
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Name him A. Tough Thorough Trough Thought.
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May I recommend Nebuchadnezzar as a middle name? It's biblical, so everyone should know it.
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Then he also made some passing comment about the Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (the Jupiter-turned-star is called Lucifer in the book) and says "I wonder if they somehow knew?" which really stretched it for me.
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Do you understand how diamonds are formed?
Re:SLACers (Score:5, Funny)
That one's easy. Let me explain.
Diamonds are formed when a pretty and dumb young blonde with a D-cup chest asks her fiancé for a ring. The fiancé knows she's asking for a diamond ring and the psychological pressure turns his next six or seven paychecks into a shiny rock.
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Extremely big and low-cost artificial diamond? Sure.
Diamonds are not Forever (Score:2)
If you took a scoop of the "diamond rain" from Neptune and put it at earth room temperature/pressure, would it stay as a crystal or would it become a gas?
Just like any diamond on Earth's surface, it will slowly convert into graphite. Diamond is an unstable allotrope of carbon on Earth and always decays to solid graphite regardless of how it was formed. So despite claims to the contrary diamonds are not forever, at least on Earth. However, since the diamond decay process is a lot slower than the human decay process most people don't worry about it.
The physicists at SLAC are clearly well aware of the various allotropes of carbon and the physical conditions
Sold Cores? (Score:2)
Who bought them? Elon? Bastard.
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No, the rap song is called "Raining diamonds on Urectum."
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Worse. Cucked by Uranus.
Where did that headline come from? (Score:5, Insightful)
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Or, in the immortal words of Inigo Montoya: "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."
The Beatles... (Score:2)
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That song is going to be renamed in 2620.
Nice (Score:1)
Looks like it's time to conquer Uranus.
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DON'T tell DeBeers (Score:2)
The first expedition to the outer planets (Score:2)
The first expedition to Uranus and Neptune is being assembled and trained even as we speak. They will learn to operate those rockets and shuttlecraft. One notable aspect is that the crew is entirely female, and each of them swears it's not about the diamonds
Pff, that's nothing... (Score:2)
Reverend Spooner (Score:2)
The Washington Post must have meant cold sores
Gotta *LOVE these stories--thank you, science! (Score:2)
I sure am glad that I did not win that powerball lottery.
I'll win the next one, and buy as much diamonds as uranus! has
Awesome looking lab (Score:2)
The Matter in Extreme Conditions Lab photo looks pretty awesome and scary. Exactly like the kind of place James Bond will get trapped in, in his next movie. No way are you going to get me in there. And who left the machete on the floor?