Naked Science Forum

On the Lighter Side => That CAN'T be true! => Topic started by: JimBob on 03/01/2007 00:25:55

Title: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: JimBob on 03/01/2007 00:25:55
Hi people, both intellectuals and groupies (Oh I am gonna get it for that!  [xx(])

I can make a diamond burn with common materials. I am taking bets and will demonstrate if someone provides the financial backing.

I swear this is true!!!

Any takers or backers?
Title: Re: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: neilep on 03/01/2007 02:08:34
Hi people, both intellectuals and groupies (Oh I am gonna get it for that!  [xx(])

I can make a diamond burn with common materials. I am taking bets and will demonstrate if someone provides the financial backing.

I swear this is true!!!

Any takers or backers?


Go on then...swear...!!

What do ewe do.. grind it down into a dust and then zap it with a flame thrower ?.....or do you make it an extra hot curry ?
Title: Re: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: Karen W. on 03/01/2007 02:19:11
HEY, Jim Bob, You are missing a D In your Diamonds Topic Heading..Well do tell how do you burn a diamond..
Title: Re: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: Karen W. on 03/01/2007 02:52:24
Diamonds are a carbon so they will definitely burn, but wouldn't it have to be really hot, how would you reach temperatures upwards to 600 to 900 Celcius in a home enviornment with common items.. I read something about diamonds and magnifing glasses but can't remember what.. may not be for burning... I can't recall!
Title: Re: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: Karen W. on 03/01/2007 03:12:56
HUMM I just read in pure oxygen at 1320 degrees fahrenheit. In air (which is about 20% oxygen), the temperature raises to around 1560 degrees Fahrenheit.Depending on who makes your solders and their melting points, I still don't get it.. How would you do this at home.. the artical also mentioned a boric acid powder and denatured alcohol, by dipping diamond in and then lighting it. burns a coating of boric acid powder that remains.then you can heat that and melt the powder which will make a glassy coating on the diamond. I guess it prevents the oxygen from getting inside so you can heat it to hihger temps. I I still don't get how that makes it possible for the diamond to burn afterwards, does it weaken it!
Title: Re: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: moonfire on 03/01/2007 05:47:00
Yes, diamonds are made of out of coal...makes sense to me...
Title: Re: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: Karen W. on 03/01/2007 06:13:52
 THere was a ton of info, but too much for me to process and make sense of for doing it in your home.
Title: Re: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: moonfire on 03/01/2007 06:44:20
I wish I could afford to lose a diamond...LOL
Title: Re: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: Karen W. on 03/01/2007 07:46:59
I only own my wedding rings and my moms rings. I have one veri tiny diamond in the engagement portion and with a tiny tiny chip on each side and the band has 4 tiny tiny chips that I can't even see. I have been trying to find something small to replace it with but havent found anything I like yet.. I like dainty and small!

We paid 450.00 for it 25 years ago.. very cheap.. I am very easy to please!!
Title: Re: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: JimBob on 03/01/2007 21:08:56
All I need is a diamond. As do all good Texans, I have a carbon arc welding rig sitting in the back yard in case I need to fix a drain pipe or patch a flowline from one of my oil wells.

So, with the Carbon Arc Welder producing about 1800° I should have no problem vaporizing the little puppy. And I do mean vaporize. The burning process of a diamond leaves only CO2 - NO ash, period.
Title: Re: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: Karen W. on 03/01/2007 21:12:22
That should do it!!! LOL LOL
Title: Re: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: JimBob on 04/01/2007 22:39:39
Jewelers also need to be careful as their soider will burn at a much lower temp without the borax flux you mentioned.
Title: Re: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: Karen W. on 04/01/2007 22:46:26
 Why is that?
Title: Re: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: JimBob on 05/01/2007 00:40:46
The teperature of their soider will burn a diamond.
It really doesn't take much heat to burn a diamond. I found this record of an extravagant experiment on chemistry.org - http://www.chemistry.org/portal/a/c/s/1/feature_ent.html?id=716a1020480a11d7e62f6ed9fe800100

In 1814 young Michael Faraday, traveling in Italy with Sir Humphry Davy, wrote a vivid and largely unpunctuated first-hand account of such a demonstration: 'Sir H. took the opportunity whilst here of making many experiments on the diamond with the great lens of the Grand Duke a noble instrument belonging to the academy and in these pursuits as in every other his attentive mind observed and demonstrated new facts. In the first experiment on the combustion of the diamond it was placed in the middle of a glass globe of 18 or 20 cubical inches capacity supported in a cradle of platinum fixed on a prop of the same metal. The cradle was pierced full of holes to admit a free circulation of air, i.e. oxygen for the globe was filled with the gas procured from hyperoxymuriate of potassa (KClO3). On placing the apparatus thus arranged in the focus of the lens it (the diamond) shortly entered into combustion and on removing it from the instrument the combustion was observed to continue for above 4 minutes during this time the diamond gave off intense heat and a beautiful vivid scarlet light it diminished rapidly in size and became at last a mere atom when it ceased to burn but on placing it again in the focus the whole rapidly disappeared. The globe was found to contain nothing but a mixture of Carbonic and Oxygene gases. This experiment was repeated several times and in all the cases the same striking phenomenon was observed a phenomenon which lessens considerably the difference existing between diamond and charcoal.' ”

So be careful of those rocks around magnifuing glasses, girl.

Title: Re: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: Karen W. on 05/01/2007 01:41:18
 DUDE I need a magnifing glass just to see my diamonds in my rings!!! LOL! There probably so thin the slightest heat would take em out!!
Title: Re: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: moonfire on 05/01/2007 02:34:23
All I need is a diamond. As do all good Texans, I have a carbon arc welding rig sitting in the back yard in case I need to fix a drain pipe or patch a flowline from one of my oil wells.

Great Scots on Fire!  This is how the Texans know I am not "one of them"  LOL
Title: Re: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: lightarrow on 08/01/2007 00:31:57
The most beautiful stone, the most hard and pure and bright, it doesn't get corrupted, it prefers to leave our world in a strong and bright flame, as our spiritual self will do, one day.
And it will become one of the infinite bright stars in the sky.
Title: Re: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: Karen W. on 08/01/2007 00:41:32
Alberto, That is one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard..very beautiful!
Title: Re: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: moonfire on 08/01/2007 03:32:22
The most beautiful stone, the most hard and pure and bright, it doesn't get corrupted, it prefers to leave our world in a strong and bright flame, as our spiritual self will do, one day.
And it will become one of the infinite bright stars in the sky.

Very beautiful sweetie!  I wonder if Alexandrite is the rariest of the stones...I did hear that there is a purple diamond, is this true or has anyone heard of it?
Title: Re: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: Karen W. on 08/01/2007 04:43:12
Loretta, you know I have been hearing of several different colored diamonds, I can't remember if purple was one or not. I know there were several!
Title: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: JimBob on 11/01/2007 03:01:06
If purple, I would suggest a diamond that was born in a lab. The most common naturally occuring color is a shade between clear and yellow and/or brown. "Pale shades of red, orange, blue ... also occur. Deeper colors are very rare." Dana's Manual of Mineralogy                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
Title: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: moonfire on 11/01/2007 14:26:46
What about the light violet, which is almost a lavender?  Would that be lab created and not along the lines of red and blue?
Title: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: JimBob on 11/01/2007 23:39:32
Amethyst is hard enough to scratch glass so it could be passed off as a diamond. Fluorite, the element, when in crystal form, is a deep purple but you can scratch it with your fingernail.

If you are considering buying something get the appraisal from a very reputable dealer IN WRITING.

The people at http://www.purplediamonds.co.uk/ say they have seen real purple diamonds but that they are rare. I thought I would have known of something this spectacular but I am obviously wrong.

This page above also tell you HOW so many purple diamonds are on the market right now -  they are artificially treated. I.E., real diamonds that have been colored. For these selected to be to be used for coloring means that they are rather low cost diamonds in the first place. Would you take a $250,000 and allow it to have it irradiated, possibly ruining the diamond in the process by creating two or more different colors?

Settle for the real thing. The value will last.
Title: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: moonfire on 12/01/2007 05:06:47
Interesting JimBob...still prefer my sapphies(sapphires)over diamonds...Very interesting....Do you know alot about gems?
Title: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: lightarrow on 12/01/2007 12:32:58
The most beautiful stone, the most hard and pure and bright, it doesn't get corrupted, it prefers to leave our world in a strong and bright flame, as our spiritual self will do, one day.
And it will become one of the infinite bright stars in the sky.
Very beautiful sweetie!
Alberto, That is one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard..very beautiful!
Thank you Loretta, thank you Karen.
If you feel it, it's inside of you...
Hug you,
Alberto.
Title: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: JimBob on 13/01/2007 04:51:20
Interesting JimBob...still prefer my sapphies(sapphires)over diamonds...Very interesting....Do you know alot about gems?

No, just stuff that I learned because I had to answer questions after my father figured out rocks were cool (60-70's) and decided to learn to make (really crappy) jewelry. But that's OK, it is the thought that counts, isn't it?
Title: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: moonfire on 15/01/2007 01:16:12
I love stones....pretty fascinating info...I am curious if anyone knows this or not...they classify a pearl as a stone/gem....but it cannot be as it was processed by a little sea creature...does anyone know about how a gem or stone gets classified as such?
Title: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: Karen W. on 15/01/2007 03:58:27
Perhaps it is because it starts out as a forien object a grain of sand that gets inside the clam. The clam in and effort to protect it self from the foriegn body surrounds it as a defense as it can't spit it out so it builds a wall around it to contain it and in the process forms this beautiful pearl. So maybe because it starts out as a mineral!! What do you think.. That's only a guess Though! I haven't a clue as to the real reason..LOL
Title: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: JimBob on 15/01/2007 04:05:24
Ignorance. Science did not know how a pearl was made until relatively recently. Last 200 years. Then, old habits die hard.
Title: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: moonfire on 15/01/2007 05:02:24
LOL so true
Title: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: Karen W. on 15/01/2007 05:15:08
Then why is it considered a stone or a gem?
Title: Diamons are NOT forever
Post by: JimBob on 15/01/2007 06:57:13
Habit.

Because they were considered gems before there was sciences of crystalography or geology, perls were called gems and it stuck until today.