Diamond is pure carbon, with the carbon atoms* arranged in a strong crystal structure, giving it its strength. The process of making diamonds takes billions of years as well as very high temperatures and huge amounts of pressure. However, some Australian scientists have made diamonds in minutes at room temperature. They did it by squashing carbon* with pressure equivalent to the weight of 640 African elephants standing on the tip of one ballet shoe.
Their breakthrough shows that the fictional superhero character Superman may have had a similar trick up his sleeve when he crushed coal into a diamond, without using his heat ray. A pear-shaped diamond weighing 101.73 carats, offered for sale by auction house Christie’s in 2013. It is one of the largest pear-shaped diamonds ever found. The new and unexpected discovery shows both Lonsdaleite and regular diamond can also form at normal room temperature by just applying high pressure equivalent to 640 African elephants on the tip of a ballet shoe.
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