The Secret Behind Diamonds - How Are They Formed?

Its amazing that so many people love diamonds but just a few knows how they comes about. It is also intriguing to know that the world's most prices stone - Diamond - is a substance made of purely carbon. Carbon is the same element that accounts for other substances such as coal, graphite, soot and a host of other substances that would rarely catch your attention or you will even dream to spend money on. However, diamond is a priceless jewel to kill. Now the big question - How did carbon as an element become such a priceless jewel? 

The formation of natural diamond requires very specific conditions. It requires an exposure of carbon-bearing materials to high pressure, ranging approximately between 45 and 60 kilobars (4.5 and 6 GPa), but at a comparatively low temperature range between approximately 900 and 1,300 °C (1,650 and 2,370 °F). These conditions are met in two places on Earth;

• Lithospheric mantle

• Site of meteorite strike

Lithospheric mantle

The formation of natural diamonds requires very high temperatures and pressures. These conditions occur in limited zones of Earth's mantle about 90 miles (150 kilometers) below the surface where temperatures are at least 2000 degrees Fahrenheit (1050 degrees Celsius). This critical temperature-pressure environment for diamond formation and stability is not present globally. Instead it is thought to be present primarily in the mantle beneath the stable interiors of continental plates

Diamonds formed and stored in these "diamond stability zones" are delivered to Earth's surface during deep-source volcanic eruptions. These eruptions tear out pieces of the mantle and carry them rapidly to the surface. This type of volcanic eruption is extremely rare and has not occurred since scientists have been able to recognize them.

Meteorite Strike Sites

Throughout its history, Earth has been repeatedly hit by large asteroids. When these asteroids strike the earth, extreme temperatures and pressures are produced. For example: when a six mile (10 kilometer) wide asteroid strikes the earth, it can be traveling at up to 9 to 12 miles per second (15 to 20 kilometers per second). Upon impact this hyper-velocity object would produce an energy burst equivalent to millions of nuclear weapons and temperatures hotter than the sun's surface.

The high temperature and pressure conditions of such an impact are more than adequate to form diamonds. This theory of diamond formation has been supported by the discovery of tiny diamonds around several asteroid impact sites. See Location 3 in the diagram at the top of the page.

Tiny, sub-millimeter diamonds have been found at Meteor Crater in Arizona. Poly-crystalline industrial diamonds up to 13 millimeters in size have been mined at the Popigai Crater in northern Siberia, Russia.

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