“Hidden within the carbon lattice that delivers the brilliance of a diamond’s sparkle lies insights into the history of our planet.”

“Diamonds form when carbon atoms bond almost exclusively with other carbon atoms. More specifically, each carbon atom bonds with four other carbon atoms. Electrostatic forces within and between the bonded carbon atoms lock them into perfectly uniform spacing: Each carbon atom is exactly the same distance from each of the other carbon atoms that it is bonded to. 

The regular and precise spacing between atoms in three-dimensional space is why diamonds are transparent. It is also why diamonds can be cut to precise angles, forming perfect lines and planes. It’s what gives them their sparkle.

Carbon is one of only a few atoms that can form such perfect, uniform bonds with itself. That’s one of the reasons that diamonds are unique compared to other natural materials. But carbon doesn’t have to bond with itself in the specific way that gives rise to diamonds. In fact, it’s only under very specific conditions – at very high temperatures and pressures – that diamonds will form.

 “Beyond their great beauty, diamonds are treasured
by scientists for all of the things we can’t see.”

Those conditions were found deep in the Earth, billions of years ago.

At that time, our planet was in its infancy. Its outer surface – the continental and oceanic crust that supports the rich diversity of life that we know today – was still developing from the hot, swirling ball of liquids and gases that constituted Earth at the time. 

How and when the continents emerged from that bubbly, molten soup is not yet fully understood. Neither is the extent to which Earth’s crust has emerged from its fiery mantle only to be consumed by it at a later time and then rebuilt anew.

One of the challenges in understanding how and when Earth’s crust formed is that it happened so long ago and so far below Earth’s surface: It’s just not possible collect samples from such depths with current technology. Even if we could reach that far into the Earth, how do you collect samples from a billion years ago?

Herein lies the hidden value of diamonds: They are ideal vessels in which ancient messages can be carried forward through time from seemingly un-survivable depths, pressures, and temperatures.

Diamonds carry billion-year-old messages from Earth’s mantle to its surface.”

Click on the link below to discover other hidden secrets…

Diamond Inclusions | Secrets of Earth’s History Are Found in Diamonds

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