A group of research scientists at the Carnegie Institution have devised a new method to grow diamonds. Keep in mind that there’s more to diamonds than the tragic trade surround them (explained in great detail in the book The Heartless Stone), as they’re used in things such as high-quality optics and quantum computers (when they’re not hoaxes).
Now, growing diamonds isn’t exactly a new thing, as you’ve been able to compress carbon into diamond for a while now, but you had to have like a zillion pounds of pressure to get it to work. And then those artificial diamonds—artificial in that they didn’t come from the earth even though it’s the same scientific process—can only be “grown” a finite amount before the method no longer works. This new method, which adds layer upon layer of diamond using a technique called chemical vapor deposition. These diamonds grow much quicker and with less defects than those high-pressure ones, and they don’t need anywhere near the pressure to be created.
Remember: diamonds are nothing more than shiny rocks.
via GIZMODO