Thank you for reading the news about a study confirming the existence of a “heavenly” diamond that reached Earth via a meteorite, and now with the details of this news.
In a recent study, researchers confirmed the existence of so-called “heavenly diamonds” after they were found on the surface of the Earth, following long-standing discussions about the truth of the stone also called “Lonsdaleite,” according to what was reported by the American CNN network.
The natural chemical process through which scientists believe Lonsdaleite formed could inspire a way to manufacture ultra-durable synthetic components, according to the authors of the study published September 12, 2022, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). .
Lonsdaleite has a hardness and strength superior to that of ordinary diamonds, and this rare mineral arrived here via a meteorite, according to the study.
The discovery began when geologist Andy Tomkins, a professor at Monash University in Australia, was out cataloging meteorites. While study co-author Alan Salk, a doctoral student and researcher at the Royal Institute of Technology in Melbourne, said he found a strange type of “curved” diamond in a space rock in northwest Africa.
Salk added that Tompkins theorized that the meteorite carrying Lonsdaleite came from the mantle of a dwarf planet that had been around for about 4.5 billion years.
For his part, Paul Asimo, a professor of geology and geochemistry at the California Institute of Technology (who did not participate in the study), said that thanks to advanced methods and future possibilities, the discovery is exciting.
The team was able to analyze the meteorite with the help of electron microscopy and advanced synchrotron techniques, which created maps of the space object’s components, including lonsdaleite, diamond and graphite, according to the study.
Diamonds and lonsdaleites can form in three ways; Either during high pressure and temperature over a long period of time, which is what diamonds look like on the surface of the Earth, or as a result of the shock of a meteorite impact at high speed, or the release of vapors from broken graphite that would attach to a small piece of diamond and build on it, according to the statement. ASIMO.
He added that the way the mineral is formed can affect its size. While the researchers in this study suggested that the third method formed the largest sample they found, pointing out that finding the largest example of Lonsdaleite is not just an anomaly from other diamonds.
Harder than regular diamond
On the other hand, Salk said that regular diamonds, like the diamonds you see in fine jewelry, are made of carbon and have a cubic atomic structure. Adding that lonsdaleite is also made of carbon, but has an unusual hexagonal structure instead.
Salk also pointed out that researchers have come up with models for the structure of lonsdaleite before, and they theorized that the hexagonal structure could make it 58% harder than regular diamonds.
This hardness could make rare space diamonds a valuable resource for industrial applications if scientists can find a way to use the new production method to produce large enough minerals.
It is noteworthy that scientists discussed the existence of lonsdaleite long before this discovery, as scientists identified parts of the mineral for the first time in 1967, but they were minute – about 1 to 2 nanometers, which is a thousand times smaller than what was found in the recent discovery, he said. Clear.
Now that scientists know about this mineral, the discovery raises the question of whether they can replicate it.
Source: American press
