- #1
Lifegazer
Why can't we manufacture 'diamond'?
Why can't we manufacture 'diamond'?
- Thread starter Lifegazer
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Discussion Overview
The discussion revolves around the manufacturing of diamonds, exploring the feasibility, methods, and implications of creating synthetic diamonds compared to natural ones. Participants touch on various aspects including the properties, costs, and ethical considerations of using human ashes as a carbon source for diamond production.
Discussion Character
- Exploratory
- Debate/contested
- Technical explanation
- Conceptual clarification
Main Points Raised
- Some participants assert that diamonds can be manufactured, but they may not match the quality of natural diamonds.
- Questions arise regarding the ease of manufacturing diamonds and the reasons for their high cost despite the ability to produce them.
- Concerns are expressed about the properties of synthetic diamonds, including their potential brittleness and the presence of impurities affecting their color.
- One participant mentions that synthetic diamonds can be nearly indistinguishable from natural ones, with radiation tests being a distinguishing factor.
- There is a discussion about the limitations of synthetic diamonds in industrial applications, with cubic boron nitride suggested as a more suitable alternative for certain uses.
- Ethical considerations are raised regarding the use of human ashes in diamond production, with some participants expressing discomfort with the idea.
- Participants discuss the potential emotional implications of wearing diamonds made from deceased loved ones, with varying reactions to the concept.
- There is mention of advancements in creating high-quality synthetic diamonds, though some participants question whether they can be considered gem-quality.
Areas of Agreement / Disagreement
Participants generally agree that diamonds can be manufactured, but there is no consensus on the quality, cost, and ethical implications of such practices. Multiple competing views remain regarding the properties and applications of synthetic diamonds.
Contextual Notes
Limitations include the varying definitions of "quality" in diamonds, the unresolved technical details regarding the manufacturing processes, and the subjective nature of ethical considerations surrounding the use of human ashes.
- #2
(Q)
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Diamonds are only a reality conjured up by the Mind.
- #3
Njorl
Science Advisor
- 284
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We can and do. They are not generally as nice as jewelry quality natural diamonds.
You can even have your loved ones ashes from cremation used as the carbon source for the manufactured diamonds.
Njorl
You can even have your loved ones ashes from cremation used as the carbon source for the manufactured diamonds.
Njorl
- #4
Lifegazer
How? Is it easy to do?
Why? And does it have the same properties/attributes as 'natural diamond'?
If we can manufacture diamond, why's it still so expensive?
I know this is going-off at a tangent, but why don't we coat our military vehicles with diamond, to give them more protection? Dollars I presume. But in theory, is a diamond tank indestructable? How strong/hard is diamond?
- #5
Raavin
- 86
- 0
I'm pretty sure that industrial diamonds are deposited on a surface using some sort of condensation method so they are tiny. I imagine that it would be ok for abrasion resistance but as far as structural strength I think diamond is fairly brittle. You can still smash a diamond with a hammer, you're just not likely to scratch it with another material.
Raavin
Raavin
- #6
Monique
Staff Emeritus
Science Advisor
Gold Member
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True, Njorl, diamonds are grown in factories and dead people are made into jewelry, all you need is some carbon and just apply a LOT of pressure to that, over weeks (or months) this diamond will grow.
The major problems with these diamonds were that they had impurities, like oxygen and nitrogen, changing the color of the stone. I think they have mainly overcome this problem now and they are coming to the point that these synthetic diamonds are almost indistinguishable from natural diamonds. The only way to tell at this point is to irradiate the stone, synthetic and natural diamonds react differently to this.
To reply about your question about industrial use: synthetic diamond is not the ideal all-purpose hard material. When heated up by friction in the presence of air, the diamond tends to decompose into carbon dioxide. And hot diamond dissolves in iron, so it can't be used to cut steel. There is actually a material better fit for this purpose Cubic boron nitride (cBN), first made in 1956, half as hard as diamond but more stable under those extreme circomstances.
Here an article about the dead-person-made-into-a-diamond:
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/WolfFiles/wolffiles253.html
The major problems with these diamonds were that they had impurities, like oxygen and nitrogen, changing the color of the stone. I think they have mainly overcome this problem now and they are coming to the point that these synthetic diamonds are almost indistinguishable from natural diamonds. The only way to tell at this point is to irradiate the stone, synthetic and natural diamonds react differently to this.
To reply about your question about industrial use: synthetic diamond is not the ideal all-purpose hard material. When heated up by friction in the presence of air, the diamond tends to decompose into carbon dioxide. And hot diamond dissolves in iron, so it can't be used to cut steel. There is actually a material better fit for this purpose Cubic boron nitride (cBN), first made in 1956, half as hard as diamond but more stable under those extreme circomstances.
Here an article about the dead-person-made-into-a-diamond:
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/WolfFiles/wolffiles253.html
- #7
enigma
Staff Emeritus
Science Advisor
Gold Member
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That sounds absolutely morbid...
Would you really want to wear your relatives and loved ones?
Can you imagine how you would feel if you lost the gem, or if it was stolen?
Gives me the heebeegeebees, I say!
Would you really want to wear your relatives and loved ones?
Can you imagine how you would feel if you lost the gem, or if it was stolen?
Gives me the heebeegeebees, I say!
- #8
climbhi
Even worse yet, what if you found out that the diamond you stole, or even worse: bought, was somones dead grandpa! Oh boy, that's a freaky thought.
- #9
LURCH
Science Advisor
- 2,550
- 119
Of course not; I'd want to SELL them!
- #10
Lifegazer
What sort of value-diamond are we talking about?
- #11
russ_watters
Mentor
- 23,876
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As in can you pass it off as a gem quality natural diamond? You can't. The quality is pretty low.
- #12
Monique
Staff Emeritus
Science Advisor
Gold Member
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Well, what I heard last year is that they were able to make perfect con-diamonds where the only characteristic distinguising them from the real ones was the reaction to radiation (the fake one glows or something).
But this might have been at a top-notch experimental factory.
But this might have been at a top-notch experimental factory.
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