DIAMOND PERFORMS WELL UNDER PRESSURE
“On January 27, 2021, a team of scientists published in the journal Nature that the diamond can hold up even when it is compressed to 2 trillion pascals (the unit of measurement used to denote pressure),” Orak told the three Mysticals.
“It means that the diamond was subjected to five times the pressure present in earth’s core. Earth’s core is the lower layer of the planet,” he added.
Diamonds are made of carbon, a chemical element. They are formed below the surface of the earth. It has high pressure and heat. Under high pressure, the carbon atoms (smallest unit) crystallize to form diamonds.
“That’s surprising,” Verum added. “When diamonds are brought out to the surface of the earth from below, they hold their form even in low pressure. It is due to the strong chemical bond formed in the diamond’s structure. That’s how all our diamonds stay stable.
But scientists had predicted that at an even higher pressure, new crystal structures more stable than the diamond would be formed.”
“That’s correct, Verum,” Orak replied. “But the study proves them wrong! When Amy Lazicki and her colleagues subjected a diamond to strong laser rays, no new crystal structures were formed! The team studied and measured the structure using X-rays to find the diamond as it was.”
“So, what did the scientists conclude?” Felix replied.
“Diamond was known to be metastable at low pressure. But the study concluded that even at the higher temperature, the diamond becomes metastable. It means that the diamond prefers to stay in a less stable state and structure rather than change to a more stable one,” Orak answered.
“I bet this find will help astronomers study exoplanets (planets outside our solar system) that are made of carbon such as the Diamond planet — 55 Cancri e discovered in 2012,” Scorch said.
“You’re absolutely right, Scorch!” Orak replied.
