113-762: The Eureka Diamond was the first diamond discovered in South Africa . It originally weighed 21.25 carats (4.250 g), and was later cut to a 10.73-carat (2.146 g) cushion-shaped brilliant , which is currently on display at the Mine Museum in Kimberley . The discovery of diamonds in South Africa led to the Kimberley Diamond Rush , and marked the beginning of the Mineral Revolution . The Eureka Diamond
226-525: A bangle , for £5,700. In 1967, 100 years after the diamond's discovery, De Beers purchased the diamond and donated it to the South African people. The diamond was placed in the Kimberley Mine Museum, where it is currently on display. 28°44′18″S 24°45′17″E / 28.738237°S 24.754727°E / -28.738237; 24.754727 Diamond Diamond is a solid form of
339-686: A magnitude of 4, but acoustic waves travel well in water and over long periods of time. A system in the North Pacific , maintained by the United States Navy and originally intended for the detection of submarines , has detected an event on average every 2 to 3 years. The most common underwater flow is pillow lava , a rounded lava flow named for its unusual shape. Less common are glassy , marginal sheet flows, indicative of larger-scale flows. Volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks are common in shallow-water environments. As plate movement starts to carry
452-777: A subduction zone . Volcanic eruption Several types of volcanic eruptions —during which material is expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure —have been distinguished by volcanologists . These are often named after famous volcanoes where that type of behavior has been observed. Some volcanoes may exhibit only one characteristic type of eruption during a period of activity, while others may display an entire sequence of types all in one eruptive series. There are three main types of volcanic eruption: Within these broad eruptive types are several subtypes. The weakest are Hawaiian and submarine , then Strombolian , followed by Vulcanian and Surtseyan . The stronger eruptive types are Pelean eruptions , followed by Plinian eruptions ;
565-486: A Christie's auction. In May 2009, a 7.03-carat (1.406 g) blue diamond fetched the highest price per carat ever paid for a diamond when it was sold at auction for 10.5 million Swiss francs (6.97 million euros, or US$ 9.5 million at the time). That record was, however, beaten the same year: a 5-carat (1.0 g) vivid pink diamond was sold for US$ 10.8 million in Hong Kong on December 1, 2009. Clarity
678-494: A Peléan eruption are very similar to that of a Vulcanian eruption, except that in Peléan eruptions the volcano's structure is able to withstand more pressure, hence the eruption occurs as one large explosion rather than several smaller ones. Volcanoes known to have Peléan activity include: Plinian eruptions (or Vesuvian eruptions) are a type of volcanic eruption named for the historical eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD that buried
791-420: A Plinian eruption, and reach up 2 to 45 km (1 to 28 mi) into the atmosphere . The densest part of the plume, directly above the volcano, is driven internally by gas expansion . As it reaches higher into the air the plume expands and becomes less dense, convection and thermal expansion of volcanic ash drive it even further up into the stratosphere . At the top of the plume, powerful winds may drive
904-453: A cigarette lighter, but house fires and blow torches are hot enough. Jewelers must be careful when molding the metal in a diamond ring. Diamond powder of an appropriate grain size (around 50 microns) burns with a shower of sparks after ignition from a flame. Consequently, pyrotechnic compositions based on synthetic diamond powder can be prepared. The resulting sparks are of the usual red-orange color, comparable to charcoal, but show
1017-406: A coming eruption is the growth of a so-called Peléan or lava spine , a bulge in the volcano's summit preempting its total collapse. The material collapses upon itself, forming a fast-moving pyroclastic flow (known as a block -and- ash flow) that moves down the side of the mountain at tremendous speeds, often over 150 km (93 mi) per hour. These landslides make Peléan eruptions one of
1130-727: A continuum with carbonatites , but the latter have too much oxygen for carbon to exist in a pure form. Instead, it is locked up in the mineral calcite ( Ca C O 3 ). All three of the diamond-bearing rocks (kimberlite, lamproite and lamprophyre) lack certain minerals ( melilite and kalsilite ) that are incompatible with diamond formation. In kimberlite , olivine is large and conspicuous, while lamproite has Ti- phlogopite and lamprophyre has biotite and amphibole . They are all derived from magma types that erupt rapidly from small amounts of melt, are rich in volatiles and magnesium oxide , and are less oxidizing than more common mantle melts such as basalt . These characteristics allow
1243-455: A diamond blue (boron), yellow (nitrogen), brown (defects), green (radiation exposure), purple, pink, orange, or red. Diamond also has a very high refractive index and a relatively high optical dispersion . Most natural diamonds have ages between 1 billion and 3.5 billion years. Most were formed at depths between 150 and 250 kilometres (93 and 155 mi) in the Earth's mantle , although
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#17328486927861356-452: A diamond to fluoresce. Diamonds can fluoresce in a variety of colors including blue (most common), orange, yellow, white, green and very rarely red and purple. Although the causes are not well understood, variations in the atomic structure, such as the number of nitrogen atoms present are thought to contribute to the phenomenon. Diamonds can be identified by their high thermal conductivity (900– 2320 W·m ·K ). Their high refractive index
1469-789: A few have come from as deep as 800 kilometres (500 mi). Under high pressure and temperature, carbon-containing fluids dissolved various minerals and replaced them with diamonds. Much more recently (hundreds to tens of million years ago), they were carried to the surface in volcanic eruptions and deposited in igneous rocks known as kimberlites and lamproites . Synthetic diamonds can be grown from high-purity carbon under high pressures and temperatures or from hydrocarbon gases by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Imitation diamonds can also be made out of materials such as cubic zirconia and silicon carbide . Natural, synthetic, and imitation diamonds are most commonly distinguished using optical techniques or thermal conductivity measurements. Diamond
1582-475: A gemstone. Because it can only be scratched by other diamonds, it maintains its polish extremely well. Unlike many other gems, it is well-suited to daily wear because of its resistance to scratching—perhaps contributing to its popularity as the preferred gem in engagement or wedding rings , which are often worn every day. The hardest natural diamonds mostly originate from the Copeton and Bingara fields located in
1695-475: A metallic fluid. The extreme conditions required for this to occur are present in the ice giants Neptune and Uranus . Both planets are made up of approximately 10 percent carbon and could hypothetically contain oceans of liquid carbon. Since large quantities of metallic fluid can affect the magnetic field, this could serve as an explanation as to why the geographic and magnetic poles of the two planets are unaligned. The most common crystal structure of diamond
1808-579: A negligible rate under those conditions. Diamond has the highest hardness and thermal conductivity of any natural material, properties that are used in major industrial applications such as cutting and polishing tools. They are also the reason that diamond anvil cells can subject materials to pressures found deep in the Earth. Because the arrangement of atoms in diamond is extremely rigid, few types of impurity can contaminate it (two exceptions are boron and nitrogen ). Small numbers of defects or impurities (about one per million of lattice atoms) can color
1921-403: A pale blue flame, and continues to burn after the source of heat is removed. By contrast, in air the combustion will cease as soon as the heat is removed because the oxygen is diluted with nitrogen. A clear, flawless, transparent diamond is completely converted to carbon dioxide; any impurities will be left as ash. Heat generated from cutting a diamond will not ignite the diamond, and neither will
2034-401: A probable cause for higher levels of volcanism. The technology for studying seamount eruptions did not exist until advancements in hydrophone technology made it possible to "listen" to acoustic waves , known as T-waves, released by submarine earthquakes associated with submarine volcanic eruptions. The reason for this is that land-based seismometers cannot detect sea-based earthquakes below
2147-435: A single eruptive cycle. Volcanoes do not always erupt vertically from a single crater near their peak, either. Some volcanoes exhibit lateral and fissure eruptions . Notably, many Hawaiian eruptions start from rift zones . Scientists believed that pulses of magma mixed together in the magma chamber before climbing upward—a process estimated to take several thousands of years. Columbia University volcanologists found that
2260-410: A stable height of around 2,500 m (8,200 ft) for 18 minutes, briefly peaking at a height of 3,400 m (11,000 ft). Volcanoes known to have Hawaiian activity include: Strombolian eruptions are a type of volcanic eruption named after the volcano Stromboli , which has been erupting nearly continuously for centuries. Strombolian eruptions are driven by the bursting of gas bubbles within
2373-463: A transition between graphite and diamond are well established theoretically and experimentally. The equilibrium pressure varies linearly with temperature, between 1.7 GPa at 0 K and 12 GPa at 5000 K (the diamond/graphite/liquid triple point ). However, the phases have a wide region about this line where they can coexist. At standard temperature and pressure , 20 °C (293 K) and 1 standard atmosphere (0.10 MPa),
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#17328486927862486-484: A type of volcanic eruption named after the volcano Mount Pelée in Martinique , the site of a Peléan eruption in 1902 that is one of the worst natural disasters in history. In Peléan eruptions, a large amount of gas, dust, ash, and lava fragments are blown out the volcano's central crater, driven by the collapse of rhyolite , dacite , and andesite lava domes that often creates large eruptive columns . An early sign of
2599-467: A very linear trajectory which is explained by their high density. Diamond also reacts with fluorine gas above about 700 °C (1,292 °F). Diamond has a wide band gap of 5.5 eV corresponding to the deep ultraviolet wavelength of 225 nanometers. This means that pure diamond should transmit visible light and appear as a clear colorless crystal. Colors in diamond originate from lattice defects and impurities. The diamond crystal lattice
2712-446: A volcanic cone on Kilauea , erupted continuously for over 35 years. Another Hawaiian volcanic feature is the formation of active lava lakes , self-maintaining pools of raw lava with a thin crust of semi-cooled rock. Flows from Hawaiian eruptions are basaltic, and can be divided into two types by their structural characteristics. Pahoehoe lava is a relatively smooth lava flow that can be billowy or ropey. They can move as one sheet, by
2825-425: A volcanic rock. There are many theories for its origin, including formation in a star, but no consensus. Diamond is the hardest material on the qualitative Mohs scale . To conduct the quantitative Vickers hardness test , samples of materials are struck with a pyramid of standardized dimensions using a known force – a diamond crystal is used for the pyramid to permit a wide range of materials to be tested. From
2938-449: Is 0.01% for nickel and even less for cobalt. Virtually any element can be introduced to diamond by ion implantation. Nitrogen is by far the most common impurity found in gem diamonds and is responsible for the yellow and brown color in diamonds. Boron is responsible for the blue color. Color in diamond has two additional sources: irradiation (usually by alpha particles), that causes the color in green diamonds, and plastic deformation of
3051-415: Is a solid form of pure carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal. Solid carbon comes in different forms known as allotropes depending on the type of chemical bond. The two most common allotropes of pure carbon are diamond and graphite . In graphite, the bonds are sp orbital hybrids and the atoms form in planes, with each bound to three nearest neighbors, 120 degrees apart. In diamond, they are sp and
3164-420: Is aided by isotopic dating and modeling of the geological history. Then surveyors must go to the area and collect samples, looking for kimberlite fragments or indicator minerals . The latter have compositions that reflect the conditions where diamonds form, such as extreme melt depletion or high pressures in eclogites . However, indicator minerals can be misleading; a better approach is geothermobarometry , where
3277-723: Is also indicative, but other materials have similar refractivity. Diamonds are extremely rare, with concentrations of at most parts per billion in source rock. Before the 20th century, most diamonds were found in alluvial deposits . Loose diamonds are also found along existing and ancient shorelines , where they tend to accumulate because of their size and density. Rarely, they have been found in glacial till (notably in Wisconsin and Indiana ), but these deposits are not of commercial quality. These types of deposit were derived from localized igneous intrusions through weathering and transport by wind or water . Most diamonds come from
3390-405: Is another mechanical property toughness , which is a material's ability to resist breakage from forceful impact. The toughness of natural diamond has been measured as 50–65 MPa ·m . This value is good compared to other ceramic materials, but poor compared to most engineering materials such as engineering alloys, which typically exhibit toughness over 80 MPa·m . As with any material,
3503-414: Is called diamond cubic . It is formed of unit cells (see the figure) stacked together. Although there are 18 atoms in the figure, each corner atom is shared by eight unit cells and each atom in the center of a face is shared by two, so there are a total of eight atoms per unit cell. The length of each side of the unit cell is denoted by a and is 3.567 angstroms . The nearest neighbor distance in
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3616-437: Is characterized by a series of short-lived explosions, lasting a few minutes to a few hours and typified by the ejection of volcanic bombs and blocks . These eruptions wear down the lava dome holding the magma down, and it disintegrates, leading to much more quiet and continuous eruptions. Thus an early sign of future Vulcanian activity is lava dome growth, and its collapse generates an outpouring of pyroclastic material down
3729-402: Is exceptionally strong, and only atoms of nitrogen , boron , and hydrogen can be introduced into diamond during the growth at significant concentrations (up to atomic percents). Transition metals nickel and cobalt , which are commonly used for growth of synthetic diamond by high-pressure high-temperature techniques, have been detected in diamond as individual atoms; the maximum concentration
3842-419: Is formed of layers stacked in a repeating ABCABC ... pattern. Diamonds can also form an ABAB ... structure, which is known as hexagonal diamond or lonsdaleite , but this is far less common and is formed under different conditions from cubic carbon. Diamonds occur most often as euhedral or rounded octahedra and twinned octahedra known as macles . As diamond's crystal structure has a cubic arrangement of
3955-502: Is generally in the form of episodic explosive eruptions accompanied by the distinctive loud blasts. During eruptions, these blasts occur as often as every few minutes. The term "Strombolian" has been used indiscriminately to describe a wide variety of volcanic eruptions, varying from small volcanic blasts to large eruptive columns . In reality, true Strombolian eruptions are characterized by short-lived and explosive eruptions of lavas with intermediate viscosity , often ejected high into
4068-412: Is higher for flawless, pure crystals oriented to the <111> direction (along the longest diagonal of the cubic diamond lattice). Therefore, whereas it might be possible to scratch some diamonds with other materials, such as boron nitride , the hardest diamonds can only be scratched by other diamonds and nanocrystalline diamond aggregates . The hardness of diamond contributes to its suitability as
4181-404: Is hybrid rock with a chaotic mixture of small minerals and rock fragments ( clasts ) up to the size of watermelons. They are a mixture of xenocrysts and xenoliths (minerals and rocks carried up from the lower crust and mantle), pieces of surface rock, altered minerals such as serpentine , and new minerals that crystallized during the eruption. The texture varies with depth. The composition forms
4294-647: Is in the form of micro/nanoscale wires or needles (~100–300 nanometers in diameter, micrometers long), they can be elastically stretched by as much as 9–10 percent tensile strain without failure, with a maximum local tensile stress of about 89–98 GPa , very close to the theoretical limit for this material. Other specialized applications also exist or are being developed, including use as semiconductors : some blue diamonds are natural semiconductors, in contrast to most diamonds, which are excellent electrical insulators . The conductivity and blue color originate from boron impurity. Boron substitutes for carbon atoms in
4407-477: Is one of the 4C's (color, clarity, cut and carat weight) that helps in identifying the quality of diamonds. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) developed 11 clarity scales to decide the quality of a diamond for its sale value. The GIA clarity scale spans from Flawless (FL) to included (I) having internally flawless (IF), very, very slightly included (VVS), very slightly included (VS) and slightly included (SI) in between. Impurities in natural diamonds are due to
4520-500: Is only moderately dispersed, and its abundance indicates a high degree of fragmentation , the result of high gas contents within the magma. In some cases these have been found to be the result of interaction with meteoric water , suggesting that Vulcanian eruptions are partially hydrovolcanic . Volcanoes that have exhibited Vulcanian activity include: Vulcanian eruptions are estimated to make up at least half of all known Holocene eruptions. Peléan eruptions (or nuée ardente ) are
4633-797: Is partially oxidized. The oxidized surface can be reduced by heat treatment under hydrogen flow. That is to say, this heat treatment partially removes oxygen-containing functional groups. But diamonds (sp C) are unstable against high temperature (above about 400 °C (752 °F)) under atmospheric pressure. The structure gradually changes into sp C above this temperature. Thus, diamonds should be reduced below this temperature. At room temperature, diamonds do not react with any chemical reagents including strong acids and bases. In an atmosphere of pure oxygen, diamond has an ignition point that ranges from 690 °C (1,274 °F) to 840 °C (1,540 °F); smaller crystals tend to burn more easily. It increases in temperature from red to white heat and burns with
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4746-765: Is possible to treat regular diamonds under a combination of high pressure and high temperature to produce diamonds that are harder than the diamonds used in hardness gauges. Diamonds cut glass, but this does not positively identify a diamond because other materials, such as quartz, also lie above glass on the Mohs scale and can also cut it. Diamonds can scratch other diamonds, but this can result in damage to one or both stones. Hardness tests are infrequently used in practical gemology because of their potentially destructive nature. The extreme hardness and high value of diamond means that gems are typically polished slowly, using painstaking traditional techniques and greater attention to detail than
4859-454: Is the case with most other gemstones; these tend to result in extremely flat, highly polished facets with exceptionally sharp facet edges. Diamonds also possess an extremely high refractive index and fairly high dispersion. Taken together, these factors affect the overall appearance of a polished diamond and most diamantaires still rely upon skilled use of a loupe (magnifying glass) to identify diamonds "by eye". Somewhat related to hardness
4972-420: The 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera . Littoral cones are another hydrovolcanic feature, generated by the explosive deposition of basaltic tephra (although they are not truly volcanic vents). They form when lava accumulates within cracks in lava, superheats and explodes in a steam explosion , breaking the rock apart and depositing it on the volcano's flank. Consecutive explosions of this type eventually generate
5085-731: The Earth's mantle , and most of this section discusses those diamonds. However, there are other sources. Some blocks of the crust, or terranes , have been buried deep enough as the crust thickened so they experienced ultra-high-pressure metamorphism . These have evenly distributed microdiamonds that show no sign of transport by magma. In addition, when meteorites strike the ground, the shock wave can produce high enough temperatures and pressures for microdiamonds and nanodiamonds to form. Impact-type microdiamonds can be used as an indicator of ancient impact craters. Popigai impact structure in Russia may have
5198-553: The New England area in New South Wales , Australia. These diamonds are generally small, perfect to semiperfect octahedra, and are used to polish other diamonds. Their hardness is associated with the crystal growth form, which is single-stage crystal growth. Most other diamonds show more evidence of multiple growth stages, which produce inclusions, flaws, and defect planes in the crystal lattice, all of which affect their hardness. It
5311-512: The Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum and, specifically, for its chronicler Pliny the Younger . The process powering Plinian eruptions starts in the magma chamber , where dissolved volatile gases are stored in the magma. The gases vesiculate and accumulate as they rise through the magma conduit . These bubbles agglutinate and once they reach a certain size (about 75% of the total volume of
5424-546: The Wawa belt of the Superior province in Canada and microdiamonds in the island arc of Japan are found in a type of rock called lamprophyre . Kimberlites can be found in narrow (1 to 4 meters) dikes and sills, and in pipes with diameters that range from about 75 m to 1.5 km. Fresh rock is dark bluish green to greenish gray, but after exposure rapidly turns brown and crumbles. It
5537-410: The effusive eruption of very fluid basalt -type lavas with low gaseous content . The volume of ejected material from Hawaiian eruptions is less than half of that found in other eruptive types. Steady production of small amounts of lava builds up the large, broad form of a shield volcano . Eruptions are not centralized at the main summit as with other volcanic types, and often occur at vents around
5650-428: The eruption column . Base surges are caused by the gravitational collapse of a vaporous eruptive column, one that is denser overall than a regular volcanic column. The densest part of the cloud is nearest to the vent, resulting in a wedge shape. Associated with these laterally moving rings are dune -shaped depositions of rock left behind by the lateral movement. These are occasionally disrupted by bomb sags , rock that
5763-436: The lithosphere . Such depths occur below cratons in mantle keels , the thickest part of the lithosphere. These regions have high enough pressure and temperature to allow diamonds to form and they are not convecting, so diamonds can be stored for billions of years until a kimberlite eruption samples them. Host rocks in a mantle keel include harzburgite and lherzolite , two type of peridotite . The most dominant rock type in
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#17328486927865876-419: The magma . These gas bubbles within the magma accumulate and coalesce into large bubbles, called gas slugs . These grow large enough to rise through the lava column. Upon reaching the surface, the difference in air pressure causes the bubble to burst with a loud pop, throwing magma in the air in a way similar to a soap bubble . Because of the high gas pressures associated with the lavas, continued activity
5989-430: The magma chamber differentiates with upper portions rich in silicon dioxide , or if magma ascends rapidly. Plinian eruptions are similar to both Vulcanian and Strombolian eruptions, except that rather than creating discrete explosive events, Plinian eruptions form sustained eruptive columns. They are also similar to Hawaiian lava fountains in that both eruptive types produce sustained eruption columns maintained by
6102-523: The normal color range , and applies a grading scale from "D" (colorless) to "Z" (light yellow). Yellow diamonds of high color saturation or a different color, such as pink or blue, are called fancy colored diamonds and fall under a different grading scale. In 2008, the Wittelsbach Diamond , a 35.56-carat (7.112 g) blue diamond once belonging to the King of Spain, fetched over US$ 24 million at
6215-417: The pyroclastic flows generated by material collapse, which move down the side of the mountain at extreme speeds of up to 700 km (435 mi) per hour and with the ability to extend the reach of the eruption hundreds of kilometers. The ejection of hot material from the volcano's summit melts snowbanks and ice deposits on the volcano, which mixes with tephra to form lahars , fast moving mudflows with
6328-402: The upper mantle , peridotite is an igneous rock consisting mostly of the minerals olivine and pyroxene ; it is low in silica and high in magnesium . However, diamonds in peridotite rarely survive the trip to the surface. Another common source that does keep diamonds intact is eclogite , a metamorphic rock that typically forms from basalt as an oceanic plate plunges into the mantle at
6441-559: The Hawaiian volcano deity). During especially high winds these chunks may even take the form of long drawn-out strands, known as Pele's hair . Sometimes basalt aerates into reticulite , the lowest density rock type on earth. Although Hawaiian eruptions are named after the volcanoes of Hawaii, they are not necessarily restricted to them; the highest lava fountain recorded was during the 23 November 2013 eruption of Mount Etna in Italy, which reached
6554-468: The advancement of "toes", or as a snaking lava column. A'a lava flows are denser and more viscous than pahoehoe, and tend to move slower. Flows can measure 2 to 20 m (7 to 66 ft) thick. A'a flows are so thick that the outside layers cools into a rubble-like mass, insulating the still-hot interior and preventing it from cooling. A'a lava moves in a peculiar way—the front of the flow steepens due to pressure from behind until it breaks off, after which
6667-427: The air before hitting the ground, resulting in the accumulation of cindery scoria fragments; when the air is especially thick with clasts , they cannot cool off fast enough due to the surrounding heat, and hit the ground still hot, the accumulation of which forms spatter cones . If eruptive rates are high enough, they may even form splatter-fed lava flows. Hawaiian eruptions are often extremely long lived; Puʻu ʻŌʻō ,
6780-1087: The air. Columns can measure hundreds of meters in height. The lavas formed by Strombolian eruptions are a form of relatively viscous basaltic lava, and its end product is mostly scoria . The relative passivity of Strombolian eruptions, and its non-damaging nature to its source vent allow Strombolian eruptions to continue unabated for thousands of years, and also makes it one of the least dangerous eruptive types. Strombolian eruptions eject volcanic bombs and lapilli fragments that travel in parabolic paths before landing around their source vent. The steady accumulation of small fragments builds cinder cones composed completely of basaltic pyroclasts . This form of accumulation tends to result in well-ordered rings of tephra . Strombolian eruptions are similar to Hawaiian eruptions , but there are differences. Strombolian eruptions are noisier, produce no sustained eruptive columns , do not produce some volcanic products associated with Hawaiian volcanism (specifically Pele's tears and Pele's hair ), and produce fewer molten lava flows (although
6893-462: The atoms form tetrahedra, with each bound to four nearest neighbors. Tetrahedra are rigid, the bonds are strong, and, of all known substances, diamond has the greatest number of atoms per unit volume, which is why it is both the hardest and the least compressible . It also has a high density, ranging from 3150 to 3530 kilograms per cubic metre (over three times the density of water) in natural diamonds and 3520 kg/m in pure diamond. In graphite,
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#17328486927867006-420: The atoms, they have many facets that belong to a cube , octahedron, rhombicosidodecahedron , tetrakis hexahedron , or disdyakis dodecahedron . The crystals can have rounded-off and unexpressive edges and can be elongated. Diamonds (especially those with rounded crystal faces) are commonly found coated in nyf , an opaque gum-like skin. Some diamonds contain opaque fibers. They are referred to as opaque if
7119-410: The bonds between nearest neighbors are even stronger, but the bonds between parallel adjacent planes are weak, so the planes easily slip past each other. Thus, graphite is much softer than diamond. However, the stronger bonds make graphite less flammable. Diamonds have been adopted for many uses because of the material's exceptional physical characteristics. It has the highest thermal conductivity and
7232-606: The buildup of high gas pressure , eventually popping the cap holding the magma down and resulting in an explosive eruption. Unlike Strombolian eruptions, ejected lava fragments are not aerodynamic; this is due to the higher viscosity of Vulcanian magma and the greater incorporation of crystalline material broken off from the former cap. They are also more explosive than their Strombolian counterparts, with eruptive columns often reaching between 5 and 10 km (3 and 6 mi) high. Lastly, Vulcanian deposits are andesitic to dacitic rather than basaltic . Initial Vulcanian activity
7345-507: The carbon source is more likely carbonate rocks and organic carbon in sediments, rather than coal. Diamonds are far from evenly distributed over the Earth. A rule of thumb known as Clifford's rule states that they are almost always found in kimberlites on the oldest part of cratons , the stable cores of continents with typical ages of 2.5 billion years or more. However, there are exceptions. The Argyle diamond mine in Australia ,
7458-436: The coloration, while pure or nearly pure diamonds are transparent and colorless. Most diamond impurities replace a carbon atom in the crystal lattice , known as a carbon flaw . The most common impurity, nitrogen, causes a slight to intense yellow coloration depending upon the type and concentration of nitrogen present. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) classifies low saturation yellow and brown diamonds as diamonds in
7571-497: The compositions of minerals are analyzed as if they were in equilibrium with mantle minerals. Finding kimberlites requires persistence, and only a small fraction contain diamonds that are commercially viable. The only major discoveries since about 1980 have been in Canada. Since existing mines have lifetimes of as little as 25 years, there could be a shortage of new diamonds in the future. Diamonds are dated by analyzing inclusions using
7684-434: The cone. Volcanoes known to have Surtseyan activity include: Submarine eruptions occur underwater. An estimated 75% of volcanic eruptive volume is generated by submarine eruptions near mid ocean ridges alone. Problems detecting deep sea volcanic eruptions meant their details were virtually unknown until advances in the 1990s made it possible to observe them. Submarine eruptions may produce seamounts , which may break
7797-422: The consistency of wet concrete that move at the speed of a river rapid . Major Plinian eruptive events include: Phreatomagmatic eruptions are eruptions that arise from interactions between water and magma . They are driven by thermal contraction of magma when it comes in contact with water (as distinguished from magmatic eruptions, which are driven by thermal expansion). This temperature difference between
7910-598: The decay of radioactive isotopes. Depending on the elemental abundances, one can look at the decay of rubidium to strontium , samarium to neodymium , uranium to lead , argon-40 to argon-39 , or rhenium to osmium . Those found in kimberlites have ages ranging from 1 to 3.5 billion years , and there can be multiple ages in the same kimberlite, indicating multiple episodes of diamond formation. The kimberlites themselves are much younger. Most of them have ages between tens of millions and 300 million years old, although there are some older exceptions (Argyle, Premier and Wawa). Thus,
8023-470: The diamond crystal lattice. Plastic deformation is the cause of color in some brown and perhaps pink and red diamonds. In order of increasing rarity, yellow diamond is followed by brown, colorless, then by blue, green, black, pink, orange, purple, and red. "Black", or carbonado , diamonds are not truly black, but rather contain numerous dark inclusions that give the gems their dark appearance. Colored diamonds contain impurities or structural defects that cause
8136-501: The diamond lattice is 1.732 a /4 where a is the lattice constant, usually given in Angstrøms as a = 3.567 Å, which is 0.3567 nm. A diamond cubic lattice can be thought of as two interpenetrating face-centered cubic lattices with one displaced by 1 ⁄ 4 of the diagonal along a cubic cell, or as one lattice with two atoms associated with each lattice point. Viewed from a <1 1 1> crystallographic direction , it
8249-415: The diamond lattice, donating a hole into the valence band . Substantial conductivity is commonly observed in nominally undoped diamond grown by chemical vapor deposition . This conductivity is associated with hydrogen -related species adsorbed at the surface, and it can be removed by annealing or other surface treatments. Thin needles of diamond can be made to vary their electronic band gap from
8362-407: The diamonds' surface cannot be wet by water, but can be easily wet and stuck by oil. This property can be utilized to extract diamonds using oil when making synthetic diamonds. However, when diamond surfaces are chemically modified with certain ions, they are expected to become so hydrophilic that they can stabilize multiple layers of water ice at human body temperature . The surface of diamonds
8475-429: The element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic . Diamond as a form of carbon is a tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of electricity, and insoluble in water. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure , but diamond is metastable and converts to it at
8588-650: The eruption and formation of the island of Surtsey off the coast of Iceland in 1963. Surtseyan eruptions are the "wet" equivalent of ground-based Strombolian eruptions , but because they take place in water they are much more explosive. As water is heated by lava, it flashes into steam and expands violently, fragmenting the magma it contacts into fine-grained ash . Surtseyan eruptions are typical of shallow-water volcanic oceanic islands , but they are not confined to seamounts. They can happen on land as well, where rising magma that comes into contact with an aquifer (water-bearing rock formation) at shallow levels under
8701-441: The eruption of Costa Rica's Irazú Volcano in 1963 was likely triggered by magma that took a nonstop route from the mantle over just a few months. It is important when studying the products of explosive eruptions to distinguish between...: George P. L. Walker , Quoted The volcanic explosivity index (commonly shortened to VEI) is a scale, from 0 to 8, for measuring the strength of eruptions but does not capture all of
8814-466: The eruptive material does tend to form small rivulets). Volcanoes known to have Strombolian activity include: Vulcanian eruptions are a type of volcanic eruption named after the volcano Vulcano . It was named so following Giuseppe Mercalli 's observations of its 1888–1890 eruptions. In Vulcanian eruptions, intermediate viscous magma within the volcano make it difficult for vesiculate gases to escape. Similar to Strombolian eruptions, this leads to
8927-444: The explosive nature than thermal contraction. Fuel coolant reactions may fragment the volcanic material by propagating stress waves , widening cracks and increasing surface area that ultimately leads to rapid cooling and explosive contraction-driven eruptions. A Surtseyan (or hydrovolcanic) eruption is a type of volcanic eruption characterized by shallow-water interactions between water and lava, named after its most famous example,
9040-449: The fibers grow from a clear substrate or fibrous if they occupy the entire crystal. Their colors range from yellow to green or gray, sometimes with cloud-like white to gray impurities. Their most common shape is cuboidal, but they can also form octahedra, dodecahedra, macles, or combined shapes. The structure is the result of numerous impurities with sizes between 1 and 5 microns. These diamonds probably formed in kimberlite magma and sampled
9153-429: The general mass behind it moves forward. Pahoehoe lava can sometimes become A'a lava due to increasing viscosity or increasing rate of shear , but A'a lava never turns into pahoehoe flow. Hawaiian eruptions are responsible for several unique volcanological objects. Small volcanic particles are carried and formed by the wind, chilling quickly into teardrop-shaped glassy fragments known as Pele's tears (after Pele ,
9266-434: The growth of bubbles that move up at about the same speed as the magma surrounding them. Regions affected by Plinian eruptions are subjected to heavy pumice airfall affecting an area 0.5 to 50 km (0 to 12 cu mi) in size. The material in the ash plume eventually finds its way back to the ground, covering the landscape in a thick layer of many cubic kilometers of ash. The most dangerous eruptive feature are
9379-408: The hardness and transparency of diamond, are the reasons that diamond anvil cells are the main tool for high pressure experiments. These anvils have reached pressures of 600 GPa . Much higher pressures may be possible with nanocrystalline diamonds. Usually, attempting to deform bulk diamond crystal by tension or bending results in brittle fracture. However, when single crystalline diamond
9492-455: The highest sound velocity. It has low adhesion and friction, and its coefficient of thermal expansion is extremely low. Its optical transparency extends from the far infrared to the deep ultraviolet and it has high optical dispersion . It also has high electrical resistance. It is chemically inert, not reacting with most corrosive substances, and has excellent biological compatibility. The equilibrium pressure and temperature conditions for
9605-423: The kimberlites formed independently of the diamonds and served only to transport them to the surface. Kimberlites are also much younger than the cratons they have erupted through. The reason for the lack of older kimberlites is unknown, but it suggests there was some change in mantle chemistry or tectonics. No kimberlite has erupted in human history. Most gem-quality diamonds come from depths of 150–250 km in
9718-467: The largest producer of diamonds by weight in the world, is located in a mobile belt , also known as an orogenic belt , a weaker zone surrounding the central craton that has undergone compressional tectonics. Instead of kimberlite , the host rock is lamproite . Lamproites with diamonds that are not economically viable are also found in the United States, India, and Australia. In addition, diamonds in
9831-467: The macroscopic geometry of a diamond contributes to its resistance to breakage. Diamond has a cleavage plane and is therefore more fragile in some orientations than others. Diamond cutters use this attribute to cleave some stones before faceting them. "Impact toughness" is one of the main indexes to measure the quality of synthetic industrial diamonds. Diamond has compressive yield strength of 130–140 GPa. This exceptionally high value, along with
9944-423: The magma conduit) they explode. The narrow confines of the conduit force the gases and associated magma up, forming an eruptive column . Eruption velocity is controlled by the gas contents of the column, and low-strength surface rocks commonly crack under the pressure of the eruption, forming a flared outgoing structure that pushes the gases even faster. These massive eruptive columns are the distinctive feature of
10057-591: The melting point of diamond increases slowly with increasing pressure; but at pressures of hundreds of GPa, it decreases. At high pressures, silicon and germanium have a BC8 body-centered cubic crystal structure, and a similar structure is predicted for carbon at high pressures. At 0 K , the transition is predicted to occur at 1100 GPa . Results published in an article in the scientific journal Nature Physics in 2010 suggest that, at ultra-high pressures and temperatures (about 10 million atmospheres or 1 TPa and 50,000 °C), diamond melts into
10170-579: The melts to carry diamonds to the surface before they dissolve. Kimberlite pipes can be difficult to find. They weather quickly (within a few years after exposure) and tend to have lower topographic relief than surrounding rock. If they are visible in outcrops, the diamonds are never visible because they are so rare. In any case, kimberlites are often covered with vegetation, sediments, soils, or lakes. In modern searches, geophysical methods such as aeromagnetic surveys , electrical resistivity , and gravimetry , help identify promising regions to explore. This
10283-424: The most dangerous in the world, capable of tearing through populated areas and causing serious loss of life. The 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée caused tremendous destruction, killing more than 30,000 people and completely destroying St. Pierre , the worst volcanic event in the 20th century . Peléan eruptions are characterized most prominently by the incandescent pyroclastic flows that they drive. The mechanics of
10396-469: The normal 5.6 eV to near zero by selective mechanical deformation. High-purity diamond wafers 5 cm in diameter exhibit perfect resistance in one direction and perfect conductance in the other, creating the possibility of using them for quantum data storage. The material contains only 3 parts per million of nitrogen. The diamond was grown on a stepped substrate, which eliminated cracking. Diamonds are naturally lipophilic and hydrophobic , which means
10509-403: The one extreme there are effusive Hawaiian eruptions, which are characterized by lava fountains and fluid lava flows , which are typically not very dangerous. On the other extreme, Plinian eruptions are large, violent, and highly dangerous explosive events. Volcanoes are not bound to one eruptive style, and frequently display many different types, both passive and explosive, even in the span of
10622-422: The plume away from the volcano . These highly explosive eruptions are usually associated with volatile-rich dacitic to rhyolitic lavas, and occur most typically at stratovolcanoes . Eruptions can last anywhere from hours to days, with longer eruptions being associated with more felsic volcanoes. Although they are usually associated with felsic magma, Plinian eruptions can occur at basaltic volcanoes, if
10735-620: The presence of natural minerals and oxides. The clarity scale grades the diamond based on the color, size, location of impurity and quantity of clarity visible under 10x magnification. Inclusions in diamond can be extracted by optical methods. The process is to take pre-enhancement images, identifying the inclusion removal part and finally removing the diamond facets and noises. Between 25% and 35% of natural diamonds exhibit some degree of fluorescence when examined under invisible long-wave ultraviolet light or higher energy radiation sources such as X-rays and lasers. Incandescent lighting will not cause
10848-678: The properties that may be perceived to be important. It is used by the Smithsonian Institution 's Global Volcanism Program in assessing the impact of historic and prehistoric lava flows. It operates in a way similar to the Richter scale for earthquakes , in that each interval in value represents a tenfold increasing in magnitude (it is logarithmic ). The vast majority of volcanic eruptions are of VEIs between 0 and 2. Magmatic eruptions produce juvenile clasts during explosive decompression from gas release. They range in intensity from
10961-666: The real diamond was sent on to Windsor for inspection by Queen Victoria . On its return to South Africa, the Eureka was bought for £500 by the Governor of the Cape Colony, Sir Philip Wodehouse . Sir Philip took it with him to the United Kingdom, where it remained for 100 years, during which time it was cut. On 16 April 1946, the Eureka was sold in London at a Christie's public auction as part of
11074-495: The relatively small lava fountains on Hawaii to catastrophic Ultra-Plinian eruption columns more than 30 km (19 mi) high, bigger than the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD that buried Pompeii . Hawaiian eruptions are a type of volcanic eruption named after the Hawaiian volcanoes , such as Mauna Loa , with this eruptive type is hallmark. Hawaiian eruptions are the calmest types of volcanic events, characterized by
11187-556: The rising plate, lowering its melting point . Each process generates different rock; mid-ocean ridge volcanics are primarily basaltic , whereas subduction flows are mostly calc-alkaline , and more explosive and viscous . Spreading rates along mid-ocean ridges vary widely, from 2 cm (0.8 in) per year at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge , to up to 16 cm (6 in) along the East Pacific Rise . Higher spreading rates are
11300-529: The size of the resulting indentation, a Vickers hardness value for the material can be determined. Diamond's great hardness relative to other materials has been known since antiquity, and is the source of its name. This does not mean that it is infinitely hard, indestructible, or unscratchable. Indeed, diamonds can be scratched by other diamonds and worn down over time even by softer materials, such as vinyl phonograph records . Diamond hardness depends on its purity, crystalline perfection, and orientation: hardness
11413-419: The stable phase of carbon is graphite, but diamond is metastable and its rate of conversion to graphite is negligible. However, at temperatures above about 4500 K , diamond rapidly converts to graphite. Rapid conversion of graphite to diamond requires pressures well above the equilibrium line: at 2000 K , a pressure of 35 GPa is needed. Above the graphite–diamond–liquid carbon triple point,
11526-721: The strongest eruptions are called Ultra-Plinian . Subglacial and phreatic eruptions are defined by their eruptive mechanism, and vary in strength. An important measure of eruptive strength is the Volcanic Explosivity Index an order-of-magnitude scale, ranging from 0 to 8, that often correlates to eruptive types. Volcanic eruptions arise through three main mechanisms: In terms of activity, there are explosive eruptions and effusive eruptions . The former are characterized by gas-driven explosions that propel magma and tephra. The latter pour out lava without significant explosion. Volcanic eruptions vary widely in strength. On
11639-471: The summit and from fissure vents radiating out of the center. Hawaiian eruptions often begin as a line of vent eruptions along a fissure vent , a so-called "curtain of fire." These die down as the lava begins to concentrate at a few of the vents. Central-vent eruptions, meanwhile, often take the form of large lava fountains (both continuous and sporadic), which can reach heights of hundreds of meters or more. The particles from lava fountains usually cool in
11752-400: The surface and form volcanic islands. Submarine volcanism is driven by various processes. Volcanoes near plate boundaries and mid-ocean ridges are built by the decompression melting of mantle rock that rises on an upwelling portion of a convection cell to the crustal surface. Eruptions associated with subducting zones , meanwhile, are driven by subducting plates that add volatiles to
11865-424: The two causes violent water-lava interactions that make up the eruption. The products of phreatomagmatic eruptions are believed to be more regular in shape and finer grained than the products of magmatic eruptions because of the differences in eruptive mechanisms. There is debate about the exact nature of phreatomagmatic eruptions, and some scientists believe that fuel-coolant reactions may be more critical to
11978-454: The volatiles. Diamonds can also form polycrystalline aggregates. There have been attempts to classify them into groups with names such as boart , ballas , stewartite, and framesite, but there is no widely accepted set of criteria. Carbonado, a type in which the diamond grains were sintered (fused without melting by the application of heat and pressure), is black in color and tougher than single crystal diamond. It has never been observed in
12091-429: The volcano can cause them. The products of Surtseyan eruptions are generally oxidized palagonite basalts (though andesitic eruptions do occur, albeit rarely), and like Strombolian eruptions Surtseyan eruptions are generally continuous or otherwise rhythmic. A defining feature of a Surtseyan eruption is the formation of a pyroclastic surge (or base surge ), a ground hugging radial cloud that develops along with
12204-467: The volcano's slope. Deposits near the source vent consist of large volcanic blocks and bombs , with so-called " bread-crust bombs " being especially common. These deeply cracked volcanic chunks form when the exterior of ejected lava cools quickly into a glassy or fine-grained shell, but the inside continues to cool and vesiculate . The center of the fragment expands, cracking the exterior. The bulk of Vulcanian deposits are fine grained ash . The ash
12317-463: The volcanoes away from their eruptive source, eruption rates start to die down, and water erosion grinds the volcano down. The final stages of eruption cap the seamount in alkalic flows. There are about 100,000 deepwater volcanoes in the world, although most are beyond the active stage of their life. Some exemplary seamounts are Kamaʻehuakanaloa (formerly Loihi), Bowie Seamount , Davidson Seamount , and Axial Seamount . Subglacial eruptions are
12430-430: The world's largest diamond deposit, estimated at trillions of carats, and formed by an asteroid impact. A common misconception is that diamonds form from highly compressed coal . Coal is formed from buried prehistoric plants, and most diamonds that have been dated are far older than the first land plants . It is possible that diamonds can form from coal in subduction zones , but diamonds formed in this way are rare, and
12543-605: Was flung out by the explosive eruption and followed a ballistic path to the ground. Accumulations of wet, spherical ash known as accretionary lapilli are another common surge indicator. Over time Surtseyan eruptions tend to form maars , broad low- relief volcanic craters dug into the ground, and tuff rings , circular structures built of rapidly quenched lava. These structures are associated with single vent eruptions. If eruptions arise along fracture zones , rift zones may be dug out. Such eruptions tend to be more violent than those which form tuff rings or maars, an example being
12656-470: Was found near Hopetown on the Orange River by a 15-year-old boy named Erasmus Stephanus Jacobs in 1867. Soon afterward, Schalk Van Niekerk entrusted the stone to John O'Reilly, who took it to Colesberg to inquire as to its nature and value. The stone came under the view of the acting Civil Commissioner Lorenzo Boyes, who on seeing that the stone cut glass declared: "I believe it to be a diamond." The stone
12769-462: Was then sent by mail in an ordinary paper envelope to Dr. William Guybon Atherstone , the colony's foremost mineralogist, in Grahamstown . Atherstone confirmed that it was a 21.25 carat (4.250 g) diamond (although some sources put the weight at 24.00 carats (4.800 g)). The Eureka was put on display at the 1867 Paris Exhibition , although some sources claim that this was a glass replica, and that
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