Black diamonds - a gift from space

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

One of the rarest minerals on our planet - black industrial diamond, also called carbonado - is of extraterrestrial origin. These rocks were formed in the depths of space during supernova explosions. This conclusion was reached by a group of American scientists from the International University of Florida and the University of Case Western Reservoir in Cleveland (Ohio).

According to a press release released by the US National Science Foundation, this was the result of a study conducted at the US Brookhaven National Laboratory using synchrotron infrared spectroscopy.

The new work confirmed the hypothesis previously put forward by the researcher Stephen Haggerty. The scientist believes that once upon a time black diamonds the size of an asteroid fell to the Earth. They were a kilometer or more in diameter.

This theory is confirmed by the fact that nowhere, except in Brazil and the Central African Republic, carbonado is not found. Moreover, according to Haggerty, no one has ever found a single carbonado in the deposits of ordinary diamonds.

Transparent black diamonds are extremely rare, with starting prices at auctions ranging from $ 150-450 per carat. Stones larger than two carats are almost never found. Most carbonados are opaque and used industrially. But also their jewelers cut for use in jewelry.

Carbonado is a Portuguese word meaning carbonaceous. This name was introduced into use in the middle of the 18th century by the Portuguese in Brazil, ITAR-TASS reports.

Diamond is a crystalline modification of pure carbon. It has the highest hardness of all materials known in nature. Diamonds are mined from the so-called kimberlites, rocks formed once during volcanic eruptions. It is assumed that kimberlite pipes are formed as a result of explosions and are filled with material carried from great depths, where diamonds were created under high pressure.