E:/ Andhraphysics2003/ Diamonds.P65 1St Proof

E:\ AndhraPhysics2003\ Diamonds.
p65
1st Proof
1
ON DIAMONDS
Many people think that the natural shape of diamond is some

what like what is shown in the cover page of this book. This kind
of picturization of diamond comes to them because they get that
wonderful sight of sparkling diamonds through advertizing media
where they customarily show diamond somewhat in this shape.
But it is not its natural shape. Diamond
occurs in nature in the shape of
octahedron (Fig. A). But in this shape it
looks rather dull and for a novice it is a
disappointment. Many little facts (planar
faces) must be cut on this raw diamond
and polished in order to produce its
OCTAHEDRON
legendary brilliance. Each tiny facet must
Fig. A
be of exactly the right size and shape
and must be located at exactly the right
inclination in relation to other
companion facets. This was not known
for along time. Someone came to know
about the property of cleavage k in
diamondsk.
Those who could handle diamonds were very very few upto
the end of 14th century. But by 1400's professional diamond
cutters sprang up who could shape and polish rough diamond by
using an iron wheel coated with large number of tiny diamonds
(called diamond dust). With experience, these diamond workman
(addressed as lapidaries-lapidaries are the ones who cut, polish
and engrave precious stones) discovered new shapes that give
better and better brilliance. In the medieval times, this was
guarded as a trade secret within the family (though diamond
cleaves with little difficult, a misdirected blow shatters the crystal
k
into pieces). In the beginning the cut

used to be simple and stopped at
obtaining a planer surface on the topthe shape of which is known as table
cut (Fig. B).
(.......the legend and science of)
Cleaving is the ability of crystals to split apart much more easily along planes in a
few directions than along any other directions; this is because, the atomic arrangement
in crystals is such that in certain directions, the binding forces between plane to plane
will be considerably less than in other directions. These planes are the cleavage planes.
Not all crystals exhibit cleavage. But those which do, will have excellent or derliness in
the atomic arrangement. In diamond, the cleavage planes are oriented parallel to the
octahedral faces.
TABLE CUT
Fig. B
By 1600's the lapidaries began

to attack the edges and produce highly
impressive brilliance. The style of
cutting came to be known as brilliant
cut, the art and technique of which
has descended to date. Now a days
with this style of cut, the diamonds
are most commonly seen with 58
facets and of round shape. Even there
are other types of cuts too but the
widely known one among them is
jubilee cut.
As a matter of information it may be noted that the largest

raw diamond ever discovered was Cullinan in the Premier mine
of South Africa in the year 1905. It weighed a whopping 0.6 kg.
After purchasing the diamond, the British colonial government
presented the same to king Edward VII of Britain. Lapidaries
from Amsterdam cut the gem into 9 large ones and 96 smaller
ones. The largest cut diamond weighed 106 gm and is set on the
British royal scepter. It is still the largest cut diamond in the
world and is known as the famous star of Africa No. 1. The next
smaller diamond weighed 63.3 gm and is mounted in the Imperial
Royal Crown. It is known as Star of Africa NO. 2.
What about Kohinoor? Well, it is the most famous of all the
diamonds in the world. It now adorns the front cross plate of the
British Royal Crown. Up till 18th century every famous diamond
such as Kohinoor (meaning 'Pinnacle of light) blue in color and
named after Henry Philip Hope, a London banker and gem
collector, Hope (now in Smithsonian Institute Washington D.C.,
U.S.A). Orloff (presented to Empress Catherine the Great of Russia
by Count Orlow and adorned the Imperial scepter that is now at
Kremlin Museum and Moscow) Shah (presented to Czar Nicholas I
of Russia in 1829 - it is now housed in Kremlin).
E:\ AndhraPhysics2003\ Diamonds.p65

1st Proof
3
Doraya - I - Noor (meaning 'Sea of light' - it was mounted on

the royal Persian bracelets - now in Iran), Great Mogul (belonged
to the famous Indian emperor Shah Jehan), Nizam (big diamond
extracted from the Golconda Mines at about 1830 and became
the property of the Nizam of Hyderabad), Nepal (from Golconda
mines was the property of the Maharajah Bir Shumsher of Nepal),
Regent (originally was with Pitt, the Governor of Madras now in French treasury),...etc. was from India. The history of
Kohinoor starts from the year 1304 authentically though some
say it is 5,000 years old. To begin with its weight was approximately
160 gm.
For many hundreds of years it was the largest diamond in
man's possession. It went through a first cut after which it weighed
38.2 gm. Again it was recut in 1862. Professionals say that it was
a careless recent, and its present weight is only 21.6 gm.
Uses of Diamond :
Diamond is the hardestk naturally occurring substance. A
large quantity of industrial diamonds are sued as drilling bits
which are used for drilling hard materials such as concrete.
Diamond tools are used in, aircraft production, machine tool
industries, shaping the internal combustion and diesel engines.
Diamonds have exceptionally low efficient of thermal expansion.
Hence when used in grinding or as abrasives, they hardly dilate
while intense heat is produced. Thus they do not fallout from the
tool setting.
The technical use of diamonds is so extensive that, only a
small percentage of all diamonds mined are set in jewellery,
but the rest proceed towards industrial applications.
Thermal conductivity of Diamond :
The thermal conductivity of diamond deserves a special

mention here.
We know metals are good conductors of heat because of the
presence of free electrons. Non-metals are generally considered
to be poor conductors of heat. But in certain cases of non-metals
where the material is a highly perfect crystal with high degree of
purity, the thermal conductivity will be considerably higher. In
this category, diamond is the outstanding example. Its conductivity
is 2000 Wm-1 K-1 which is a whopping 5 times that of copper.
This is attributed to the high efficiency of propagation of what
are called phonons in the capital. Phonons are quantized vibration
energies of the crystal lattice.
The property of high thermal conductivity is sometimes made
use of by the professionals to distinguish the genuine diamonds
from the fake ones. The procedure is very simple. The crystal is
kept on a piece of paper for sometime. It is then picked up with
handkerchief and placed on the tongue. Instantly the tongue
feels it cold for a true diamond as it quickly conducts the heat
away from the tongue, whereas a fake one would remain warm
on the tongue because of its poor thermal conductivity.
By the way don't mistake hardness for toughness. If you drop a diamond on the
floor, it may shatter - because it is not tough !

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E:\ AndhraPhysics2003\ Diamonds.

Many people think that the natural shape of diamond is some

into pieces). In the beginning the cut

(.......the legend and science of)

By 1600's the lapidaries began

As a matter of information it may be noted that the largest

E:\ AndhraPhysics2003\ Diamonds.p65

Doraya - I - Noor (meaning 'Sea of light' - it was mounted on

Thermal conductivity of Diamond :

The thermal conductivity of diamond deserves a special

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