SVCAUSA 2010 |
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| Diamonds have been one of the sought after mineral and is one of the greatest symbol of wealth. It is surprising to know that the lustrous stone is actually just a really pressure cooked charcoal. Diamonds are actually made of pure carbon. Much younger volcanic rocks—kimberlites and lamproites—pass through the cratonic rocks in a liquid form called magma during their rapid ascent to Earth’s surface. These flowing veins of rock act as carriers of diamonds and other rock fragments. After eruption they solidify, forming funnel-shaped kimberlite “pipes.” These pipes are primary diamond deposits. Many diamonds are recovered at a distance from their primary deposits in secondary alluvial deposits, which are loose eroded materials left behind by flowing water. Carbon trapped kilometers beneath the earth and being subjected to extreme temperatures and pressure, resulted to the formation of the diamonds very strong and much aligned crystalline formation. This principle is also used to produce synthetic diamonds where people subject carbon minerals to great temperature and pressure. With the right temperature, diamonds can be even tinted with a color tinge.
Diamonds have gained great attention because of its unique composition that when cut precisely will actually manage a great degree of total internal reflection or in other words, cut diamonds usually sparkle real good with minimal lighting. However, diamonds aren’t only used for jewelries. Due to its inherent hardness with it actually topping in the Moh’s scale as the hardest standard, it is used to efficiently cut metal and very hard objects. One thing to note as well is that only diamonds can cut diamonds. Posted 2011-01-29 and updated on Jan 29, 2011 9:05pm by crisd |