The sparkling truth about Diamonds

Diamonds are always called a girl's best friend. They are formed from carbon and are used for a variety of purposes from jewellery to use in lasers and cutting and polishing tools. Though most diamonds are colourless you do come across a few; rare coloured diamonds.

What are diamonds?


Diamonds derive their name from the Greek word for unbreakable - adamas. They are the hardest, naturally occurring substance on the planet. Diamonds are one of the several allotropes of carbon. Diamond is considered less stable than graphite. The chemical makeup of diamonds ensures that they have very few impurities, making them ideal for optical applications. They are also excellent conductors of heat. So if you ever place a large diamond in your mouth it would be quite cool to feel.

Place a large diamond in your mouth and it would feel quite cool being an excellent conductor of heat.


How are diamonds formed?


When deposits of carbon are exposed to high pressure and temperature a diamond is formed. Diamonds can be found up to 140 kilometres beneath the surface of the planet. Diamonds have also known to be formed at depths of 300km as well. The ideal combination of pressure and temperature is found mostly deep under ground under layers of the earth known as continental plates. Today diamonds are made synthetically by a high pressure, high temperature process that mimics the natural forces that produce diamonds.

Diamonds in India


Diamonds in India can be traced back to 4th Century BC. In fact we were one of the first countries to actively mine these precious gems. Some of the areas that these gems were mined from include Golconda, and Raolconda. It is from Golconda that the famous Kohinoor Diamond and Hope Diamonds were mined from.

Diamonds in India can be traced back to 4th Century BC.


Coloured diamonds


Diamonds can come in different colours depending upon impurities in it. The colours can range from intense pink, blue and even red! One of India's heirlooms is the Hope Diamond. What makes this diamond unique is its blue colour. This 45.52 carat diamond is blue in colour. The colour is caused by small amounts of boron in the diamond. Greater the quantity of boron in a diamond, the more is the blue colour in the diamond. Some diamonds have nitrogen atoms infused in the diamond giving it a yellowish colour.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Why do onions make you cry?