In an age when you will get absolutely anything on-line, it is most likely no shock you could purchase a diamond-making machine for $200,000 on Chinese language ecommerce website Alibaba. Should you, like me, have not been listening to the diamond trade, it seems that the supply of those machines displays an ongoing development towards democratizing diamond manufacturing—a course of that started many years in the past and continues to evolve.
The historical past of lab-grown diamonds dates again at the very least half a century. Based on Harvard graduate scholar Javid Lakha, writing in a complete piece on lab-grown diamonds printed in Works in Progress final month, the primary profitable synthesis of diamonds in a laboratory setting occurred within the Fifties. Lakha recounts how Howard Tracy Corridor, a chemist at Normal Electrical, created the primary lab-grown diamonds utilizing a high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) course of that mimicked the situations beneath which diamonds type in nature.
Since then, diamond-making know-how has superior considerably. Right now, there are two main strategies for creating lab-grown diamonds: the HPHT course of and chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Each forms of machines are actually listed on Alibaba, with costs beginning at round $200,000, as identified by engineer John Nagle (who goes by “Animats” on Hacker Information). A CVD machine we discovered is extra dear, at round $450,000.
Not a Easy Operation
Whereas the thought of buying a diamond-making machine on Alibaba is likely to be intriguing, it is necessary to notice that working one is not so simple as plugging it in and watching diamonds type. Based on Lakha’s article, these machines require vital experience and extra sources to function successfully.
For an HPHT press, you’d want a dependable supply of high-quality graphite, steel catalysts like iron or cobalt, and exact temperature and stress management techniques. CVD machines require a gentle provide of methane and hydrogen gases, in addition to the power to generate and management microwaves or sizzling filaments. Each strategies want diamond seed crystals to start out the expansion course of.
Furthermore, you’d want specialised information to handle the expansion parameters, deal with probably hazardous supplies and high-pressure gear safely, and course of the ensuing uncooked diamonds into usable gems or industrial parts. The machines additionally use appreciable quantities of vitality and require common upkeep. These components could make the method topic to some rules which can be far past the scope of this piece.
In brief, whereas these machines are extra accessible than ever, turning one right into a productive diamond-making operation would nonetheless require vital funding in gear, supplies, experience, and security measures. However hey, a man can dream, proper?
The Nice Diamond Glut
Generally a Hacker Information remark is price greater than its weight in gold (or diamonds), and John Nagle, who developed Nagle’s algorithm for enhancing the effectivity of TCP/IP networks within the Eighties, posted one in response to Lakha’s article. It comprises factoids about diamonds, with sources, which can be price relaying for anybody curious in regards to the present state of diamond manufacturing.
One notable growth comes from De Beers, the diamond company recognized for its dominance within the pure diamond market. By way of its R&D operation Aspect Six, the corporate is now able to producing artificial diamonds with flaw ranges within the parts-per-billion vary. This stage of purity far exceeds what’s needed for jewellery, coming into the realm of high-tech functions. Aspect Six has even managed to create diamond home windows for lasers as much as 10 centimeters throughout, showcasing the potential for giant, extraordinarily pure artificial diamonds.
On the pure diamond entrance, there’s been a shocking breakthrough. Nagle factors out that the trade has developed an industrial x-ray system to look at rocks earlier than crushing, serving to to protect massive diamonds that may in any other case be damaged throughout extraction. This know-how has led to some spectacular finds, together with a 2,492-carat diamond found final month. The sorter for this job comes from TOMRA, an organization recognized for high-volume sorting techniques utilized in recycling and meals processing.
