Graphite Under Pressure

Timmy,

We need to talk. You are subterranean in your thinking. In other words, you are in over your head.

Liquid graphite does not exist, and this has been flogged already in your other whimsical thread.

Timmy, just check a good non-fiction book out and read it.

It's been done.

The only reason that synthetic diamonds aren't the norm, is because huge sums of money have been paid to keep both the price, and demand for mined diamonds in the stratosphere. There is no discernible difference. The brokers of power and influence have struck a deal. The quality of synthetics is intentionally kept low enough, (visually), that they are primarily used in industry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_diamond

It takes 1/2 million PSI and 3,000°C to forge a diamond.

I'm afraid Tim's gotten some bad info somewhere.

His numbers may be off, but I did see an interesting documentary on this a few years ago. They had developed a process where they could make diamonds that were indiscernible in hardness, clarity, etc.....................................in fact they were ascetically as nice as the finest mined diamonds. Long story short. There really is no reason to mine diamonds anymore..............................the entire market is being artificially manipulated and controlled. Big surprise, huh?

I would not be surprised to see the diamond market collapse. DeBeers is engaged in a desperate rear guard action to elevate and quantify 'natural diamonds' as more valuable etc etc, even going so far as to mark them as real with microscopic marks.

On the mining front, there has been some pull-back from diamond plays as synthesis gains ground

Well, as with most things that involve huge sums of money, very powerful people are behind keeping values artificially high.

I've never been one to get real excited about things whose value is based on perception. My wife has friends with giant rocks on their fingers, with a price tag to match. I think they're crazy to walk around with those things on. There are people out there that will beat you to death to get that 5-7 thousand dollar ring.

Yes, it is worthless to me. I am unable to understand the marketing edifice that DeBeers has built over the years - they will not find me a client.

I feel that the day of collapse may be imminent because synthetics will fill the industrial void for drills etc, leaving the fools market to support the edifice.

That said, DeBeers can manage a declining market if they can make and enforce their new branding method to discriminate between natural and synthetic stones. They will be unable to do this unless they can get an obvious method. I think they will fail because there will be no way to tell two women apart, one with a $10 million ring of naturally mined diamond versus an otherwise identical ring made with a $1,000 synthetic. This can be done only while patents rule. Once they expire, the fall is inevitable.

You may be right. I'm guessing that at this point, Debeers and others are kicking money out to the synthetic diamond makers to insure that their diamonds remain in the industrial setting, and out of the jewelry stores. A win-win situation.

It's difficult to tell what will happen. But you're right. If the market is flooded with synthetics that are indistinguishable from mined diamonds, the prices will drop like a rock. (pun intended).

Don't be surprised though, if a massive marketing campaign is launched to convince the public that an earth formed diamond is inherently more valueable than a man made diamond, despite the fact that they are identical. The same people that buy expensive diamonds now, as a status symbol, will be easily convinced that this is a fact.

Furthermore, carbon ≠ carbonate.

There is a company in Utah, US Synthetic, that uses a similar process to manufacture industrial diamonds.

They also re-press color flawed gem diamonds into flawless clear diamonds.

6400psi is the pressure under water at that depth. For air the pressure increases by about 25% at a depth of 1.5 miles. That makes it just over 18psi.

Normally I don't reply to people sooo far of the track, but today is my birthday so I am making a special effort to be nice.

These diamonds will be made from bullshine.

1) carbonate? 2)110 degrees fahrenheit? What temperature do you think "molten" graphite is? i've been to beaches hotter than that. 3) you need a greater pressure than that that exists there to insert the material, so why bother with the drilling. milo