Diamond is one of the hardest and most expensive natural minerals in the world. Some labs do even make artificial ones. But does it need so much pressure to make a diamond?
According to science, the main raw material that turns into diamonds is carbon. It is as said but the carbon goes under lots of pressure and heating to turn into diamonds.
What is a diamond?
A diamond is a mineral formed from pure carbon. After carbon goes to a certain level of heat and pressure, it crystalizes and this crystal which becomes very hard is what we call a diamond. You can identify diamonds by their reflective property when polished and their hard nature.
Diamond is so hard that it can not be cut or harmed instead, it is rather used in cutters for cutting hard metals. It is usually used for making luxurious jewellery.
Diamonds are formed deep beneath the earth’s crust within the mantle of the earth’s core. The carbon trapped in the mantle gets heated into what crystalizes. Naturally occurring volcanic eruptions push the crystals to the surface of the earth where it is mined.
Knowing the amount of pressure and heat needed to turn carbon into diamond crystals, now labs can easily create diamonds. Lab-grown diamonds these days are almost indistinguishable from natural ones.
How Much Pressure To Make A Diamond?
Since it only takes heat and pressure to make a diamond, scientists have been able to mimic the process to make diamonds out of carbon. So let us look at how much pressure we need to make a diamond.
To make diamonds, the carbon-containing material must be subjected to 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit of heat and 825,000 Ibs per square inch. It is only under this that synthetic diamond is made.
Synthetic diamonds seem like it is something that might be of very low quality. But trust me, you will need lots of instruments and knowledge about diamonds to know which is synthetic and which is natural.
FAQs
I will try my best to answer a few questions about diamonds here. But if you do not find the questions you would like answered here, kindly leave them in the comment box and I will answer them as early as possible.
For natural diamonds to form, carbon is squeezed really tight under the earth in the mantle of the earth’s core at about 825,000 Ibs per square inch. It is also heated up to 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit before eventually cooling to turn into a diamond.
Yes of course. Sometimes when too much pressure is built inside the diamond stone, a little vibration could break it or make it explode as most people will refer to it. This pressure built in the stone is also referred to as a strain.