diamonds

The new movie ?Blood Diamond? tells about the perils of mining diamonds here on earth. But soon this may not be a problem, since we will be able to mine diamonds in space?or else create them artificially.

Rare, black diamonds have long baffled scientists, since they are so different from the clear-colored gems that emerge from volcanic explosions on earth. In LiveScience.com, Jeanna Bryner quotes researcher Sonia Esperanca as explaining why diamonds are so valuable: “This process preserves the unique crystal structure that makes diamonds the hardest natural material known.” But charcoal-colored diamonds don’t come from volcanoes, so what is their origin? Astronomers now think they come from supernova explosions in space. A supernova is a star that explodes.
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An ex-Army officer in Florida is using secret Soviet technology to create fake diamonds that are indistinguishable from “real” ones. Soon we’ll all be able to afford to wear masses of them?but when it’s no longer a status symbol, will we still want to?

Joshua Davis writes in Wired Magazine about Carter Clarke, who runs Gemesis in Sarasota, Florida, where he grows diamonds in a warehouse using Russian-designed machines. Diamond dealer Aron Weingarten of Antwerp, Belgium says, “Unless they can be detected, these stones will bankrupt the industry.”
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An old song says that “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend,” and if you’ve got some big ones around, that may be true, because geologists have found evidence that the Earth is no longer producing large diamonds. The ancient Romans thought diamonds were splinters from fallen stars, and the Ancient Greeks thought they were tears from the Gods. We know they form at great pressures at great depths from compressed carbon deposits. After they’re formed, they’re brought to the surface in magma from volcanoes. But much about the formation of diamonds remains mysterious.
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