Diamonds

Anna Jin Block D

__ D i a m o n d s __

Name and Structure: Diamonds, comes from the Greek word, “adamas” meaning invincible or hardest //__ Diamond Cubic Crystal Structure __// (Spheres represent carbons and rods represent the chemical bonds between the carbons)

How Diamonds are made: //Naturally and Man-made// Diamonds are formed deep ( around 140 km) beneath the earth’s surface where high heat and pressure exists naturally. Diamonds are actually made up of pure carbon which pencil lead or coal is also made of. The only difference is that the atoms in a diamond are arranged more tightly, which makes them harder. This strong bond is formed when carbon is exposed to high temperatures (1100 -1400 degrees Celsius) and pressure for **//millions//** of years, which hardens it. Natural diamonds are rare to find which is why they’re so // expensive ////. // Luckily, we no longer have to wait millions of years for diamonds to be created anymore. Man- made diamonds are much faster to produce and in good quality. A nonprofessional would find it difficult to differentiate a natural diamond from an artificial one. Many scientists have been successful in creating gems that are similar to diamonds from the following two methods:

__ 1) High pressure, high temperature (HPHT): __ By exposing graphite (which is made from pure carbon) to intense pressure and heat, this is one synthetic method to form diamonds. An HPHT machine squeezes down on the graphite as electricity zaps it, producing a gem-like diamond in a few days. Because a metallic solution is mixed in with the graphite, these diamonds are not as pure as natural ones.

__2) Chemical vapour deposition (CVD):__ Manufacturers place a piece of diamond (also called the seed) into a depressurizing chamber. Then it is exposed to natural gases such as hydrogen and methane with charged particles. As the gases are heated to about 2,000 degrees, carbon atoms begin to “rain down” onto the seed in the chamber, stick to it, rearranges into the same structure of the seed --growing a perfect sheet of diamond overnight.

How Diamonds Affect Us: Although diamonds are used for showcase purposes such as in jewellery, mining the diamonds cause a great amount of pollution. - __Mining Pollution__: The most common and industrious type of diamond mining is pipe mining. This is a type of open-pit mining in which large amounts of rock and materials, called overburden, are removed to retrieve the diamonds. Large areas of land and surrounding ecosystems can be disturbed as well as the potential for acid mine drainage causing damage to the surrounding areas. Environmental recovery surrounding diamond-mining operations involves enormous effort to return the damaged landscape back to shape. This includes not only saving the fill removed from the pit and refilling pits once mining has finished, but saving also preserving the earth so that vegetation can be planted again. Also, diamond-mining faces challenges relating to energy use and chemical pollutions that effect the surrounding environments, ecosystems and people. The chemical pollution can end up contaminating the surrounding water bodies as well.

Interesting facts about Diamonds: · Sometimes, other substances like //nitrogen gas// and //sulfur// are trapped inside the crystal. These substances are responsible for giving diamonds their color. Usually, diamonds are colorless but green, pink and orange diamonds have been found. · Many were superstitious about diamonds. In battle, diamonds were supposed to bring victory to its wearer, giving him strength and courage. Diamonds are also believed to bring its wearer good fortune. It was also worn in direct contact with the skin to ward off evil spirits of the night and allow its wearer to have a good night's sleep · A diamond was supposed to represent many things as well. Diamonds were supposed to indicate one’s truthfulness. If they were lying, the diamond would grow dim, and if the person was honest, the diamond was to glimmer brightly. · In Europe, diamond dust was thought to be a poison, while swallowing entire diamonds was supposed to cause a large amount of damage to a person's digestive system. The truth is that even tiniest shards of these crystals are able to tear holes in a person’s digestive tract.

Diamonds: //Everyone’s Best Friend//

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 * __ Sources: __**


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