In a recent study, researchers confirmed the existence of so-called “celestial diamonds” after they were found on the Earth’s surface, following longstanding discussions about the truth of the stone also called “Lonsdalite,” according to CNN.
In this context, the natural chemical process by which scientists believe Lonsdalite stone was formed could inspire a way to produce ultra-strong industrial components, according to the authors of the study published September 12, 2022 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. , known for its acronym “PNAS”.
Lonsdalite stone has a hardness and strength that surpass that of ordinary diamonds, and this rare mineral came here from a meteorite, according to the study.
The discovery began when geologist Andy Tomkins, a professor at Monash University in Australia, was overseas in the field of meteorite classification. Study co-author Alan Salk, a PhD 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 Tomkins theorized that the meteorite carrying the Lonsdalite came from the mantle of a dwarf planet that existed about 4.5 billion years ago.
With advanced methods and future possibilities, the discovery is exciting, said Paul Acemo, a professor of geology and geochemistry at Caltech (he was not involved in the study).
The team was able to analyze the meteorite with the help of electron microscopy and advanced synchrotron techniques, which made maps of the space body’s components, including londesalite, diamond and graphite, according to the study.
Diamonds and Lonsdalite can be formed in three ways; Either during high pressure and temperature over a long period of time, which is the appearance of diamonds on the surface of the Earth, or the impact of a meteorite at high speed, or the release of fractured graphite vapors that would stick together. to a small piece of diamond and build on it, says Asimo.
He added that how the mineral is formed can affect its size. While the researchers in this study suggested that the third method constituted the largest sample they found, pointing out that finding the largest sample of Lonsdalite is not just an anomaly of other diamonds.
On the other hand, Salk said that ordinary diamonds, like diamonds seen in high jewelry, are made of carbon and have a cubic atomic structure. He added that the Lonsdalite is also made of carbon, but instead has an unusual hexagonal structure.
Salk also noted that the researchers have already come up with models for Lonsdalite’s structure and theorized that the hexagonal structure can make it 58% harder than ordinary 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 sufficiently large minerals.
Interestingly, scientists discussed the existence of Lonsdalite long before this discovery, as scientists first identified parts of the mineral in 1967, but it was tiny – about 1 or 2 nanometers, which is a thousand times smaller. than what was found in the latest discovery, he said, passable.
Now that scientists know about this mineral, the discovery raises the question of whether they can replicate it.
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