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Planets made of diamond

Discussion in 'Alley of Dangerous Angles' started by chevalier, Apr 17, 2005.

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  1. chevalier

    chevalier Knight of Everfull Chalice ★ SPS Account Holder Veteran

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    Remove all ads!
    Some of those extrasolar planets may be made partly of pure diamond, according to research. When gas and dust containing lots of carbon is packed, the pressure can produce the resulting graphite into diamond beneath the surface of the planet. Here's a bit more on this:

    The rest is at nature.com. Have a nice read. ;)
     
    chevalier, Apr 17, 2005
    #1

  2. Argohir Gems: 10/31
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    Most of extrasolar planets are gas giants.Only a little part of them are rock planets like Earth.And I think the resources on that planets are useless for now
     
    Argohir, Apr 17, 2005
    #2
  3. Splunge

    Splunge Bhaal’s financial advisor Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    Well, the beings who live there might have different opinions. :p
     
    Splunge, Apr 17, 2005
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  4. Wordplay Gems: 29/31
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    What's better to fuel space-expedition than human greed? Perhaps this gives some extra money to ESA if the right eyes read that. Next in turn: planets made of oil :money: :money: :money:
     
    Wordplay, Apr 17, 2005
    #4
  5. Taluntain

    Taluntain Resident Alpha and Omega Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

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    As soon as you have a resource with limited practical application (i.e. jewellery for larger diamonds mostly), it'll only keep a high price for as long as it's relatively hard to obtain and there aren't enormous quantities of it. Lately the process of making artificial diamonds has been perfected to the point where experts are no longer able to distinguish real ones from manufactured ones, and consequently the prices are going down. There will always be the prestige of owning real diamonds, but when manufactured ones can be made just as perfect as the real thing, no one is going to be able to tell who's wearing real ones and who's wearing fakes. And manufactured ones cost significantly less.

    Anyway, my point is, if you suddenly had a gigantic amount of diamonds available, they'd lose most of their value. So a planet made of diamond would theoretically be priceless, but practically worthless.

    Same with gold, really. It only has such a high monetary value because it is a rare commodity.
     
    Taluntain, Apr 18, 2005
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  6. Charlie Gems: 14/31
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    Interestingly enough, diamonds aren't as rare as you might think. Their price is high because their supply is purposely kept low by a cartel in Africa. I think it was even De Beers. Other gemstones are actually rarer.
     
    Charlie, Apr 18, 2005
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  7. JSBB Gems: 31/31
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    Yeah, diamonds are actually not that rare and the price is mostly due to De Beers controlling the supply and doing some pretty effective marketing over the years.

    Whenever a new diamond find happens De Beers instantly contacts whomever has the mineral rights and buys them out or recruits them into the cartel - otherwise the price would fall through the floor.

    Back in the 90s there was big concern that Russia was going to try to make some quick cash by dumping diamonds on the market but De Beers managed to persude the government that the cartel was the way to go.
     
    JSBB, Apr 18, 2005
    #7
  8. Taluntain

    Taluntain Resident Alpha and Omega Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

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    Well, yes, in the end it doesn't really matter if the resource is limited artificially, the end result is the same.
     
    Taluntain, Apr 19, 2005
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  9. Aldeth the Foppish Idiot

    Aldeth the Foppish Idiot Armed with My Mallet O' Thinking Veteran

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    :doh: And I'm the fool who goes and buys the real thing. Even experts can't tell the difference? I feel so... used.
     
    Aldeth the Foppish Idiot, Apr 19, 2005
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  10. Dalveen

    Dalveen Rimmer gone Bald Veteran

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    @charlie
    Have you been reading Clive Cussler's book Shockwave? becuase i know he specifically mentions that fact :p
     
    Dalveen, Apr 19, 2005
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  11. Harbourboy

    Harbourboy Take thy form from off my door! Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    Yeah, the marketing has been fantastic. They've turned a crystal that is really only useful for its hardness in industrial applications and turned it into a must-have fashion item that you'll pay through the nose for. Brilliant!
     
    Harbourboy, Apr 19, 2005
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  12. Charlie Gems: 14/31
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    @Dalveen,

    No, I haven't. I took it up as a case study in business school a few years back. I will look into Shockwave. It sounds interesting.
     
    Charlie, Apr 20, 2005
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  13. Sir Belisarius

    Sir Belisarius Viconia's Boy Toy Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder

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    Most extrasolar planets discovered have been gas giants, but that's because our sensor technology could only pick up gas giants until recently. The new Huygens telescope has only been online a year or two and it's already found several "Earth-like" planets - meaning more solid bodies and not gas giants.

    I predict we're going to discover a lot more as time goes on. Maybe even a few with critters on them!
     
    Sir Belisarius, Apr 20, 2005
    #13
  14. Arahar

    Arahar Hmm, it's a dwarf. Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder

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    Actually a very good Master Jeweller can tell the difference between real and artifical diamonds and other gemstones. However there is only about a dozen of these people and they can only tell because an artifical gem is flawless. There is no such thing as a real flawless gem. The imperfections might be almost microscopic but they are there.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 15, 2012
    Arahar, Apr 21, 2005
    #14
  15. Taluntain

    Taluntain Resident Alpha and Omega Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

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    No, actually they can't any more. I read an article on this just recently. The latest manufactured diamonds are identical to the real thing, imperfections and all. Only the machines used in creating them are not publicly available yet, IIRC. But they gave the manufactured ones to several experts and they all proclaimed them to be real.
     
    Taluntain, Apr 21, 2005
    #15

  16. Yulaw9460 Gems: 9/31
    Latest gem: Iol

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    A new trend from the US has finally reached Denmark. A company takes the ashes of your dead wife/husbond/relative/pet/whatever you want, filters and compresses these ashes and 4 months later you have a diamond made from the ashes of your loved ones. Hmmmm.....
    Kindda morbid, I think....
     
    Yulaw9460, Apr 23, 2005
    #16

  17. toughluck Gems: 8/31
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    Yulaw—not really morbid. They may simply discard the ashes, and buy a factory-made diamond. Voila, instant cash for them, and how are you going to ever know?
     
    toughluck, Apr 24, 2005
    #17
  18. Warrior of the World

    Warrior of the World Questing through space

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    Yes, but the idea itself is rather ghoulish, is it not?
     
    Warrior of the World, Apr 24, 2005
    #18

  19. toughluck Gems: 8/31
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    Yeah, it is, but from what I hear, lifetime diamonds (IIRC, that's what they are called) are making a killing…
     
    toughluck, Apr 26, 2005
    #19
  20. Harbourboy

    Harbourboy Take thy form from off my door! Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    Ho ho ho, toughluck, you comedian.

    Anyway, how big a diamond do you get from the carbon in a normal human?
     
    Harbourboy, Apr 26, 2005
    #20
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