[meteorite-list] Black diamonds= supernova origin?

From: Laurence Garvie <lgarvie_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2007 13:03:59 -0700
Message-ID: <78574415c845d0c5f1af6d5bd3c8610a_at_asu.edu>

I have had a quick look at the paper that proposes that black diamonds
are interstellar. The authors have made some interesting measurements
and it is true that the carbonado diamonds have long puzzeled
scientists. I actually have several large carbonado stones on my desk
and have meant to study them for some time. The part of the paper that
is rather vague is the notion of the carbonado as forming in an
interstellar environment - the authors mention white dwarfs composed of
modified diamond and planets composed of concentric rings of diamond.
Unless the C, H, and N isotopes of the carbonados are really strange I
prefer to think of them of having formed terrestrially or possibly some
early parent body collision process during the early history of our
solar system.

By the way, just to clarify, diamonds are common in many meteorites
including carbonaceous chondrites, ureilites, and just about any
meteorite that contains carbon and has been shocked.

Laurence




------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------
Dr. Laurence A.J. Garvie
School of Earth and Space Exploration (SESE)
Arizona State University
------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------
On Jan 10, 2007, at 11:57 AM,
meteorite-list-request at meteoritecentral.com wrote:

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> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2007 11:20:36 -0500
> From: Darren Garrison <cynapse at charter.net>
> Subject: [meteorite-list] Black diamonds= supernova origin?
> To: Meteorite Mailing List <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> Message-ID: <574aq25ed3jooubpcs4rtatt20a126pljt at 4ax.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> The story seems very fishy to me. I find it hard to believe that even
> diamonds
> could survive hitting the Earth's atmosphere/surface at interstellar
> speeds.
>
> http://www.livescience.com/forcesofnature/070108_spacey_diamonds.html
>
> ET Gems: Black Diamonds Come from Outer Space
>
> By Jeanna Bryner
> LiveScience Staff Writer
> posted: 08 January 2007
> 05:42 pm ET
>
>
>
> If you?re looking for a space-age way to propose marriage, a
> black-diamond ring
> might be the way to go.
>
> Long baffled by their origin, scientists now have evidence that these
> charcoal-colored gems [image] formed in outer space.
>
> Stephen Haggerty and Jozsef Garai, both of Florida International
> University,
> analyzed the hydrogen in black diamond samples using infrared-detection
> instruments at the Brookhaven National Laboratory and found that the
> quantity
> indicated that the mineral formed in a supernova explosion.
>
> Also called carbonado diamonds, meaning ?burned? or ?carbonized? in
> Portuguese,
> black diamonds defy mineral-making rules and are neverfound in the
> world?s
> mining fields where the clear and classic variety typically resides.
>
> Conventional diamonds form hundreds of miles beneath the Earth?s
> surface, where
> high pressure and heat turn carbon into diamonds
>
> Volcanic blasts send the gems in a short amount of time to the surface
> where
> they can be mined. "This process preserves the unique crystal
> structure that
> makes diamonds the hardest natural material known," said Sonia
> Esperanca of the
> National Science Foundation. She was not involved in the research.
>
> Since 1900, about 600 tons of conventional diamonds have been traded.
> Black
> diamonds reside in certain geologic formations in Brazil and the
> Central African
> Republic.
>
> Haggerty has suggested, in the past, that black diamonds might have
> rained down
> on Earth inside meteorites billions of years ago. Their relative
> distribution on
> Earth could be explained by the timing of the formation of the
> continents, he
> said.
>
> The new research was published in the journal Astrophysical Journal
> Letters.
>
>
>
>
>
Received on Wed 10 Jan 2007 03:03:59 PM PST