Many of the folk wisdoms reflect the property of one of the most beautiful stones on earth: "clear water diamond", "hard as a diamond", "diamond brilliance", etc. And one of the properties is density. Diamond, whose name according to one version comes from the ancient Greek "almas" - indestructible, is a precious stone, but it is used not only in jewelry. Let's figure out what density depends on and what role it plays in the "life" of a stone.
A bit of history
There are many legends and beliefs associated with the amazing stone. And one of them - diamond brings good luck to its owner. But only winners in life can own it. And notable people who wore it include Napoleon Bonaparte, Julius Caesar, and Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV.
EuropeI recognized the diamond around the 5th-6th century BC. e., but only 550 years ago he received his incredible popularity. After all, it was then that they learned how to cut it correctly in order to maximize the properties of a diamond. And all because of its incredible properties - enormous strength, while the density of diamond is 3500 kg/m3. What other known mineral can boast the same characteristics?
But the fact that many consider a diamond to be a mineral that cannot be broken has led to the loss of rare and beautiful stones. For example, in 1476, during the war between Duke Charles the Bold (one of the first owners of cut diamonds similar to brilliant cut) and King Louis XI, the king's mercenaries managed to break into a tent standing on the battlefield. They were struck by the placers of diamonds located there. They decided to check the authenticity of the stones with a hammer, and they turned a large number of expensive and beautiful stones into dust.
"Girls' friends" diamonds became only in the middle of the fifteenth century, thanks to Agnes Sorel, favorite of Charles the Seventh. Now you know the name of the one who made many men "unhappy".
Physical properties
An ignorant person, holding a diamond in his hands, is unlikely to guess what kind of treasure he got. A raw crystal looks very simple and inconspicuous. Yes, and most often the mineral is found in nature in the form of fragments of irregular shape. Well, transparent, well, with high light refraction, which varies from 2, 417 to 2, 419. What is special about it?Only a sample of an octahedral shape (two pyramids are interconnected by a base) can attract the attention of the layman by the play of light on their faces. It is the high light refraction that determines what we later call brilliant brilliance, there is no birefringence. With prolonged exposure to the sun, most stones begin to glow in the dark.
Diamond is also known for its incredible hardness - 10 out of 10 on the Mohs scale. In other words, the hardest mineral known on earth. But what is the density of a diamond, you can easily find it in the reference book. But before we look, try to guess what it should be? Based on its hardness - quite high. But even here the diamond shows its paradox.
High hardness is due to the special structure of the cubic crystal lattice, where each corner is a carbon atom. One more atom is placed in the center of the face, and 4 atoms each inside the cube. Thus, those atoms that are located in the center of the face are common to two neighboring cells, and those at the vertices are common to eight. This way of packing an atom is the densest.
The crystal splits with the formation of smooth parallels (the so-called perfect cleavage). The fracture in this case varies from conchoidal to splintery (of course, not by cleavage).
Looking into the reference book: the average density of diamond is 3500 kg/cu.m. It can vary from 3.47 to 4.55 grams per cubic centimeter. Not so much for such a hard mineral. According to Razivalgrinding hardness is 140000, 0.
Colours
One more physical property that I would like to mention is the color of the stone. And coloration has a significant effect on the density of a diamond. The most common are colorless or yellowish, with a bluish or brown tint. Colored crystals are much less common in nature, but the color variations are very diverse: pink and red, orange and bright yellow, green and blue, purple and cognac, cherry, gray and even black. Another name for colored diamonds is fancy. Although the most expensive were and remain transparent colorless or with a bluish tint, but the demand for stones of rare shades is growing, which means that their price is also rising.
Besides, we are used to the fact that diamonds are transparent, but there are also opaque ones. Color and transparency directly depend on the chemical composition of the crystals. Another regularity was also noticed: the darker, the lower the diamond density (g/cm3).
Chemical composition and properties
As already mentioned, the mineral is 96.0–99.8% carbon, the atoms of which are interconnected in a cubic lattice. In addition, other chemicals are also found in the crystal - oxygen, nitrogen, boron and silicon, aluminum and manganese, iron and copper, titanium and zinc, nickel, etc. Inclusions of olivite and chromite, graphite and pyrope, enstatin and others are possible.
Quite often you can find crystals with water and carbonic acid, carbon dioxide and other substances in gaseouscondition. Most often, impurities are located closer to the periphery of the crystal.
As for the chemical properties, the diamond is very resistant to acids and alkalis, it is not wetted by water, but it is easily covered with a fatty film, even from a normal touch with your hands. This property is used to determine the real stone. The mineral remains chemically inert until it is exposed to high temperatures.
Diamond burns at 850 °C, producing carbon dioxide. And when heated without air access to more than 1000 ° C, it turns into an allotropic modification - graphite.
What else determines the cost?
The range of prices for diamonds is very wide, and the cost depends on many characteristics. But in any case, the price for one carat (0.2 g) is always indicated:
Cut: the most highly valued of these is 57 facets, or it is also called the Tolkovsky cut. For small diamonds - 17 and 33. The rest of the cuts are considered fancy, and the price is much lower. But still, we list other types of cuts: Baryon, Quadrillion, Princess, Marquis, Rose, Briolette, Pear, Oval, Heart, Usher, Emerald ", "Radiant", "Triliant"
- Transparency: if the transparency is perfect in a diamond, there are no cracks, including micro-inclusions, then the priceinstantly increases by an order of magnitude, or even more.
- Size of the stone: we are not talking about carats here, so a diamond weighing one carat in diameter can be 6.5 mm, and if the other indicators are also high, then the cost can be 10-12 thousand dollars per carat.
- Color. It all depends on fashion trends and the whims of the client. But the most valuable are still considered colorless and with a bluish tint.
Application
Having studied the properties of a diamond, we can safely say: the stone is simply unique. But not only in jewelry it is now used. Science and industry takes part of the world's stone reserves for their own needs. They only use small or defective stones.
What properties are valued by science and industry:
- high thermal conductivity;
- hardness;
- transparency (ability to transmit UV and IR rays);
- structure of the crystal (may be a conductor, an insulator). It can withstand high voltage, sudden temperature changes.
Medicine did not stand aside, using diamonds in surgery. Scalpels are now being produced, the blade of which is diamond. The sharpening of such blades makes the cuts ultra-thin. In laser devices, wounds are cauterized with the help of diamonds. Diamond windows are being installed in laboratories with hazardous chemicals.
Construction and repair tools for both domestic and professional purposes - saws, metal knives, milling cutters and glass cutters, grinding wheels and much more - are coated with diamond grit to increase their service life. Tunnelsare laid using the so-called tunneling machine. His knives are covered with a layer of diamond grit.
In the school curriculum
Such a characteristic as the density of a diamond is found even in the school curriculum. They study it in such a subject as physics, in the section "Fundamentals of Molecular Kinetic Theory" in the 10th grade. And the problem is solved. It sounds like this in full:
There is a diamond whose density in kg/m3 is 3500. What volume will the atoms of matter occupy in the amount of 1022? (Myakishev's problem book). It turns out that the properties of diamonds are studied at school. And not only in this problem book there are similar problems. It is also possible to write a condition like this:
Diamond's density is 3500. How much volume will 1022 of its molecules occupy?
Space News
Until recently, everyone was sure that the largest diamond is the "Star of Africa". Its mass is 3106 carats. How much, everyone would think, but astronomers found a small diamond in the constellation Serpens, the mass of which is 1031 carats! This is a real giant. Of course, no one held it in their hands, but scientists are sure that this white dwarf is completely composed of superdense crystalline carbon. Here is a diamond with a diameter of 55,000 km in diameter.
