Friday, October 1, 2010

Diamonds are a Scientists Best Friend.

This was called "Diamonds are a Scientists Best Friend",  I found it on itunes, and it was made by "stuff from the science lab" by Allison and Robert.

First they start explaining diamond formation. It consists only of carbon and it is only made naturally at specific temperatures and pressures. Carbon is everywhere, it is in our bodies and in the air around us. Therefore there are a lot of different places in the universe and on earth where diamonds can be made, if the right temperatures and pressures used. Most diamonds were formed millions or billions years ago. If wanting to crate natural diamond, you would need to imitate the temperatures and pressures from the core of the earth.

Then they started talking about some awards that were given to scientists in Mexico, because they had figured out how to create diamonds, only using tequila. They also talked about a machine that in some way used diamonds to cut into mouse brains. 

After that they talked about the biggest diamonds. The biggest one in the world is owned by a king in Thailand. It is about the size of a palm. The other one began talking about a big star, consisting only of carbon and therefore it can crystallize. That star, probably is the biggest diamond in the universe. The star is called White Dwarf. 

They explained how diamonds were studied and what scientists had found out when studying diamonds. Diamonds are studied, kind of like earthquakes are studied. Most diamond research in the universe is done on micro diamonds, which are found in asteroids. Jupiter might have a giant diamond in its core, but nobody knows that for certain. Also Neptune might have a diamond ocean, with diamond icebergs in it. Tests have been done on melting diamonds. when they were melted, they floated on the diamond liquid. That could explain the magnetic field on the north pole. 

There is a special insect, that scientists have done some research on. It is green, and has a very shiny shell. Scientists found out that the reason the insect shines is because it has a crystal shell. It cannot be used to make diamonds, but it can give scientists an idea of which crystal structure to use when creating diamonds. They also talked about why the insect was green, it was because the crystal shell reflected the green color, making it seem green. 

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