Scientists grow diamonds in just 15 minutes with new ‘gem-changing’ method
Scientists have discovered a novel way to create diamonds in just 15 minutes, so you won’t have to wait millions of years for them to form.
According to Live Science, natural diamonds are formed in the Earth’s mantle, the molten zone located hundreds of miles below the planet’s surface, under extreme pressure and at temperatures as high as 1,500°C.
The natural formation of a diamond can take up to 3.3 billion years.
The current process used to produce 99% artificial diamonds is high-pressure and high-temperature (HPHT) growth. It involves dissolving carbon in liquid metals, such as iron, and then encouraging the material to develop into a diamond around a tiny seed.
Nevertheless, only very few diamonds are produced by this technique, which is also difficult to maintain.
Chemical vapor deposition is an alternate technique that removes some obstacles but still needs seeds.
But thanks to a novel method developed by a group led by physical chemist Rodney Ruoff of the Institute for Basic Science in South Korea, scientists can now synthesize diamonds at standard atmospheric pressure without needing an initial gem.
This could remove some of the shortcomings of both synthesis procedures and greatly simplify the process of growing precious gemstones in the lab.
In April, the group released their research findings in the journal Nature.
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