[Rockhounds] now: diamonds

[Glenn Wimpee]

Soooooo...

Exactly how is cubic zirconia made?

I know it does not qualify as a natural mineral... just curious.

What is the molecular compound and how is it produced?

And what is it on the mohs scale?

BTW, I all too well remember when Superman made the diamond from a lump of
common coal...LOL!

And (no flame intended) Billy Joe Shaver was the artist who sang that great
country song in 1973.

Please add my name to the field trip.

Glenn

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <Lapadary at aol.com>
To: <rockhounds at lists.drizzle.com>
Sent: Thursday, November 04, 2004 9:14 PM
Subject: Re: [Rockhounds] was: mars photo, now: diamonds


> In a message dated 11/4/04 5:52:14 PM Pacific Standard Time,
> deepskyspy at insightbb.com writes:
>
> I would  think coal has too many impurities to make good diamonds.
Graphite
> would  be a better alternative. Although I read that limestone might form
> diamonds (the "C" in CaCO3) in one Australian deposit. I guess the
limestone
> got subducted into the upper mantle.
>
> =====================>
> I admit my research for that was a Superman comic book. Remember the one
> where he squeezed a lump of coal until it turned into a beautifully
faceted
> diamond? That belief was reinforced by the words to the classic country
song,
> "I'm just an old lump of coal (but I'm gonna be a diamond someday.)"
>
> If Superman did it and Johnny Cash sang it how can it not be true?   :-]
> But my question was, when we go on Dr. Bill's field trip to  Mars, can we
expect
> to find agate? the feldspar group? limestone?
>
> Grant
>
>
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