Some Characteristics of a Diamond
The diamond is valued by human beings as a precious stone. In fact, it is considered to be one of the most precious stones. It also has intrinsic geological value. It is the hardest substance on earth. In the world, there is no substance harder than the diamond. Besides, it is brilliant. A diamond without spots is the most brilliant stone on earth.
From the chemical point of view, a diamond is a piece of carbon, like coal, but with a difference. Under very great heat and pressure, the carbon atoms get purged of the impurities and become diamond. This is a general explanation, although the actual process is much deeper.
A diamond is a part of the surroundings from which it becomes. It is a crystal. It is a part of a stone, which has got some property, which permits it to become a diamond under certain conditions. In a way, the diamond may be called the essence of the stone involved.
Left to nature’s agencies, it takes years, maybe centuries, for a diamond to come up to the surface. Sometimes, diamonds get washed into riverbeds and flow into the sea.
To retrieve a diamond from its parent stone is not easy. The removal of the stone is a difficult job. If one is not very careful, the diamond may get damaged. One can remove loose things like the soil still around the stone. The stone has to be carefully separated. One cannot use heat. One has to use mechanical means.
When one comes to the crystal, one does not know whether it is a diamond crystal or any other crystal like quartz, unless one has the necessary knowledge. Diamonds are rare, quartz are plentiful. The properties of quartz are very different from those of the diamond. Quartz is a product of silica; diamond is from graphite.
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