In an age when you may get absolutely anything on-line, it is most likely no shock you can buy a diamond-making machine for $200,000 on Chinese language ecommerce web site Alibaba. In case you, like me, have not been listening to the diamond business, it seems that the provision of those machines displays an ongoing pattern towards democratizing diamond manufacturing—a course of that started a long time in the past and continues to evolve.
The historical past of lab-grown diamonds dates again not less than half a century. In accordance with Harvard graduate pupil Javid Lakha, writing in a comprehensive 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 Nineteen Fifties. Lakha recounts how Howard Tracy Hall, a chemist at Common Electrical, created the primary lab-grown diamonds utilizing a high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) course of that mimicked the circumstances underneath which diamonds kind in nature.
Since then, diamond-making expertise has superior considerably. Right this moment, there are two major 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 pointed out by engineer John Nagle (who goes by “Animats” on Hacker Information). A CVD machine we discovered is extra expensive, at around $450,000.
Not a Easy Operation
Whereas the concept 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 kind. In accordance with Lakha’s article, these machines require vital experience and extra assets 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 strain management methods. CVD machines require a gentle provide of methane and hydrogen gases, in addition to the flexibility to generate and management microwaves or scorching filaments. Each strategies want diamond seed crystals to begin 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 elements. The machines additionally use appreciable quantities of vitality and require common upkeep. These elements could make the method topic to some rules which are 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 value 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 accommodates factoids about diamonds, with sources, which are value relaying for anybody curious concerning the present state of diamond manufacturing.
One notable improvement comes from De Beers, the diamond company identified for its dominance within the pure diamond market. By its R&D operation Element Six, the corporate is now capable of producing artificial diamonds with flaw ranges within the parts-per-billion vary. This stage of purity far exceeds what’s vital for jewellery, coming into the realm of high-tech functions. Component 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 business has developed an industrial x-ray system to look at rocks earlier than crushing, serving to to protect giant diamonds that may in any other case be damaged throughout extraction. This expertise has led to some spectacular finds, together with a 2,492-carat diamond discovered final month. The sorter for this job comes from TOMRA, an organization identified for high-volume sorting methods utilized in recycling and meals processing.
