Ever looked up into the sky on a clear night, see a shooting star and think to yourself it resembled a trail of falling diamonds? Well you might not bee too far off, because apparently there are diamonds up there and some of them are falling to earth.

Space diamond, by: morningcupojoe.com

Only a few weeks ago we were told that scientists can now prove that there are diamond glaciers floating around on the oceans of Neptune and Uranus, and today we learned that two very special diamonds were found hiding inside the Havero meteorite that crashed to Earth in 1971.

But the meteorite diamonds are unlike the diamonds found on Earth. Which, I guess, makes sense, since if you're going to come crashing down through the atmosphere, you aught to be packing a little extra punch. And these “alien diamond,” according to the scientists researching them do. They are ultra-hard – much harder than their earthbound kin. 

Could be nice to get some luxury gems over the city, don't you think?

According to the researchers, the super-hard diamond duo, which in fact are two small carbon crystals, were created when the graphite in the meteorite experienced the intense heat and pressure of entering the Earth’s atmosphere and the impact of crashing into the ground.

Nevertheless, and much like in the case of nearly any big guy nicknamed “tiny,” finding out exactly how tough the meteorite diamonds are is impossible at this point; since they're too small to test for precise hardness.

So how can the scientists be so sure that these diamonds really are that hard? Apparently, the researchers found them by using a diamond paste to polish a slice of the meteorite. The crystals were raised more than 10µm above the polished surface, which meant they were harder than the diamonds in the polishing paste. In fact, the little-big guys were unaffected when polished in every direction.

The scientists then applied an array of mineralogical instruments to the diamonds, including microscopy, spectroscopy and energy-dispersive X-rays among others, which allowed them to identify them as representing two new carbon polymorphs or diamond polytypes.

Photo Credit: FilanFilan

Diamonds are famous worldwide for their beauty and prestige, but not many people are aware that diamonds have other virtues as well. Since diamonds are the strongest and hardest natural material known to man, they are often used for industrial purposes. Industrial diamonds are valued for their hardness and heat conductivity, while disregarding the four C's that the gemstone industry is based on.

Industrial diamonds are usually inferior to gemstones in clarity, color etc. Contrary to popular belief, diamonds as a whole are not all that rare. Only some 20% of all diamonds mined around the world are used as gemstones, while the rest are used in industry. The line between gem-quality diamonds and industrial diamonds is not absolutely defined: when demand for polished diamonds is high, low-quality diamonds are polished into low-quality or small gemstones instead of being used in the industry.

Diamonds are the perfect material for cutting and grinding tools. Diamond based tools can polish, cut and wear away any kind of material, including other diamonds. Diamonds are used in the industry in drill bits and saws, while diamond powder is used as an abrasive.

In addition to natural diamonds that are deemed unfitting to commercial use, synthetic diamonds also serve as industrial diamonds. A total of 570 million carats of synthetic diamonds are produced annually for industrial use, and 90% of diamond grinding grit are made of synthetic diamonds.

Many Israeli companies, such as Strauss & Co., Ben Gad Yosef and Toolgal provide industrial diamonds and develop diamond cutting tools for turning, boring and burnishing different types of materials.

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