Fact 1
Besides believing that diamonds could attract luck and success, people also thought that they could defy the astrological events. Many people used them as jewels, supposing they would be increasing their sexual power and capacity to attract. Even Plato wrote about diamonds, describing them as living creatures, impersonating divine spirits.
Until the 15th century, only kings were allowed to use diamonds, having them as a symbol of courage, power and invincibility. But as the centuries passed by, the diamond started to acquire its status of sublime proof of love. Currently, they are related to the love, romance and myth.
We probably will never know when the first diamond was discovered, but we do know that, from the ancient times to the 18th century, all the diamonds of the world came from India. From the period of the Roman Empire to the appearance of the first Europeans to India, in the beginning of the 16th century, the commercial relations between Europe and Eastern Asia bloomed.
Fact 2
Diamonds are 58 times harder than corundrum, which is the second hardest natural substance on Earth. Corundrum is the stuff from which sapphires and rubies are formed.
- Only diamonds can cut or scratch other diamonds. Diamonds are the hardest natural substances known, where hardness refers to its resistance to scratching. This makes it ideal for daily wear because it can't easily be scratched. Some materials may be able to scratch flawed diamonds but the hardest can only be scratched by other diamonds.
- If placed in conditions of extreme temperatures reaching up to around 5,500 degrees Celsius or 9,932 degrees Fahrenheit, it will sublime and release carbon dioxide. Graphite and diamonds do not melt when heated, at temperatures mentioned above, they sublime into gases.
Technical fact
The melting point and boiling point, intensive physical properties. The melting point denotes the temperature at which a substance changes from a solid to a liquid. At the boiling point, a material changes from a liquid to a gas. These two characteristic temperatures of a substance are measures of the strength and the nature of the bonds that are formed within a substance.
Form
|
Melting Point (Celcius)
|
Boiling Point (Celcius)
|
Diamond
|
3550
|
4827
|
Graphite
|
3652 - 3697 (sublimes)
|
4200
|
Amorphous
|
3652 - 3697 (sublimes)
|
4200
|
Buckminsterfullerene
|
Are diamonds really forever?
Contrary to DeBeer's claims, a diamond is certainly not last forever. It is thermodynamically unstable relative to graphite at ambient conditions. Theoretically, the diamond you have is very slowly transforming into it's duller cousin - graphite. The most stable allotropic form of carbon is graphite. This is shown by looking at the free energy of formation, D G°f. The amount of energy required to transform one form of carbon to another can be determined by the difference between their heat of formation,D H°f, values. The degree of disorder is measured by the entropy value, S° ,of the carbon form.
| Form | D H°f(KJ/mole) | D G°f(KJ/mole) | S°(J/mole*K) |
| C (gas) | 718.4 | 672.9 | 158.0 |
| C (diamond) | 1.88 | 2.84 | 2.43 |
| C (graphite) | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.69 |
| C (C60) |
Fact 3 it is important to understand where these gems came from before we talk about how long they are likely to last -they are formed under huge amounts of pressure and high temperatures deep below the surface of the earth. Next, it is also important to know just how long they have been around too. Most scientists agree that the most recently formed diamond was probably created somewhere around 45 million years ago. Therefore, we can be pretty sure about one thing – they are not likely to be things that disappear or break easily.
Diamonds can be shattered quite easily unlike what most people would think. A person can break a diamond just by hitting it with a hammer. The misconception comes from its title as the "hardest" natural material on Earth. What most people don't know is that, as mentioned above, hardness only refers to its resistance from scratching. It's toughness (ability to withstand breakage) is only around 3.4 MN m-3/2, which is still a good value compared to other gemstones but weaker to most engineering materials.
However, are the diamonds really forever? If they appeared miraculously, can they be destroyed? As incredible as it may seem, the small diamond that adorn the ring that you gave your wife will probably last forever - at least while Earth exists. They are the most resistant minerals of the planet, and only can be melted when displayed to a temperature of 5500°C.
The problem is that the global atmosphere will never achieve this high temperature, even if it was to be hit by an enormous meteor that would eliminate all forms of life. They only would melt if, one day, the planet literally entered the Sun, which has a temperature of 5800°C. The curious thing is that, according to astronomers, in 7,5 billion years our planet will actually enter the Sun, when the star will be next to death. If you think diamonds will disappear then, you might be wrong. When such episode happens, the temperature of the Sun will lower to about 3000°C. That means that even when Earth reaches an atmosphere as hot and dense as Mercury’s atmosphere, we will still be able to find some small diamonds spread around.
Haha :-), would this day happen on you? I not thinking so, whilst this proves they are exceptionally resilient, it also proves one other thing. Such gems are no longer being created, or at least have not been created in many millions of years. In fact, the conditions needed for a diamond to form are no longer present on earth, meaning that whilst they might stick around for a long time, there will be a day when we simply run out.
So, whilst nothing will ever last forever, a diamond can indeed last for longer than we will ever need, longer then you and me. All it needs is the right care and it can be the perfect gift to last a lifetime
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