Rare Diamonds Formed In Liquid Metal Pockets

First Posted: Dec 16, 2016 03:04 AM EST
Close

If one has ever wanted a diamond ring, or had a girl who wanted one, he should already be familiar of the 4Cs: Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat. Of course, these perfect, precious gem does not become perfect on its own and is actually exceedingly rare.

The world's largest, most valuable diamonds, however, are not actually in mining areas, but they are hidden away, likely born in pockets of liquid metal that are found deep within the Earth. Live Science noted that this discovery could indicate a key role on how carbon and other elements form between the Earth's interior and the surface.

What people do know, however, is that diamonds form from deep in the Earth's mantle and that they rise to the surface with the help of volcanic eruptions. Still, they are rare, and the biggest gem quality ever found on record is the Cullinan diamond, which was found in Southern Africa in 1905, at 3,106.75 carats and was later cut up into several polished pieces.

These types of diamonds are especially precious -- previous research already indicated that large gemstones stand out not only in size but also in composition and structure. This led scientists to speculate that these larger diamonds form differently than their smaller counterparts.

Evan Smith, a geologist at the Gemological Institute of America in New York, and his colleagues analyzed 42 finished diamonds loaned to them for a few hours at a time, and two unfinished samples as well as nine "offcut" pieces that are essentially leftovers after jewelers cut and polish them.

In these offcut pieces, researchers detected tiny metallic grains, including solidified mixtures of iron, nickel, carbon and sulfur. These metallic grains serve as evidence that massive diamonds actually have unusual origins and that the chemistry of the metal inclusions suggest that the large ones crystallize from liquid metal pockets that, according to Science Mag, may take place in regions 401 to 660 kilometers in depth.

In contrast, other diamonds may grow from a chemical mix of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen.

See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone

©2017 ScienceWorldReport.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The window to the world of science news.
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of scienceworldreport.com

Join the Conversation

Real Time Analytics