Russia reveals 'unique diamonds' created by gases and lightning from volcanic eruption
Sparkling discovery of precious gems in solidified lava of Tolbachik flare-up.
The ministry expressed excitement about the quantity of diamonds found in the lava. Picture: Perm State University
Geologists are celebrating the discovery of a new type of diamond, says the Russian Ministry of Science. The find was in the lava of 3,682 metre Tolbachik volcano in the Kamchatka peninsula in the country's far east, and experts predict they will be commercially exploited.
'The solidified lava of the Tolbachik eruption (2012-2013) carries within it a new and never-before-seen type of diamond,' stated the ministry.
'They are named Tolbachik diamonds. According to the Russian geologists, these unique diamonds are not formed in the magmatic melt, but are created by volcanic gases under pressure and as a result of crystallisation under the influence of electrical discharges of lightning.'
Geoolgists say that to the uneducated eye the gems look almost identical to synthetic diamonds.
'But these are true diamonds that differ from any other known types of precious gems' from their geological and mineralogical characteristics, from combustion temperatures to composition of trace. There was a patent registered in 1964 in France to produce diamonds from gas by using extra powerful electric discharge. It is quite possible that Russian geologists found a nature-made - and real - alternative to French synthetic diamonds.'
Tolbachik volcano eruption, and Tolbachik diamonds. Pictures: Lusika33, Perm State University
The ministry expressed excitement about the quantity of diamonds found in the lava.
'From a small sample of solidified lava there were several hundred diamonds recovered - that's a lot!
'This is the number of diamonds that can only be compared with abnormally high enrichment of diamond lava rocks on the field of Dachin in India (77 diamonds in a 1-kilogram sample) and an unusual magmatic rock in Canada (1,500 diamonds in 28-kilogram sample).'
The diamonds are 250 to 700 microns in size. At least some of the lava yields are diamondiferous, in other words, capable of yielding diamonds for mining.
In a report by scientists it was stated that the diamonds 'were identified using electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction.
The crystals, as a rule, represent a combination of cubes and octahedrons, with rare rhombododecahedrons'. They concluded: 'Such numerous (hundreds) diamond grains in lavas of the active volcano were found for the first time in the world.'
The Tolbachik complex comprises two volcanoes - Plosky (flat) Tolbachik (3,085 m) and Ostry (sharp) Tolbachik (3,682 m).
Tolbachik volcano eruption. Pictures: Lusika33
They are respectively a flat-topped shield volcano and a peaked stratovolcano. The volcano's best known eruption was called the Great Tolbachik Fissure Eruption (GTFE) in 1975. An eruption on 27 November 2012 started from two fissures of a strombolian type.
Buildings some 4 kilometres distant were hit by the spectacular lava flows which went as far as 20 km.
The basaltic lavas with diamonds in the pores are similar in chemical composition to the lavas of the Great Tolbachik Fissure Eruption, but there are crucial differences.
'The basalts of the new eruption contain slightly more SiO2 and higher Fe relative to those of GTFE.'
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I found the patent that is referenced in this press release. The patent is entitled: "Improvements to processes for diamond production" and is by Francis Bundy of General Electric. I have read this patent. I would like to clarify some of the science in the patent with regard to this 2015 disclosure concerning lightning transforming carbonaceous gas to diamond in the live lava of the volcano. The status of diamond synthesis during this time of Bundy during the 1960s was high pressure and high temperature. The apparatus patented by GE during those times involved use of huge vises to create high pressures on reactants typically solid reactants (graphite as was used by Bundy in this work) and (for the subject matter here electric resistive heating to raise the temperature of the sample so the reactant (graphite) with catalyst (iron) would transform to diamond under the high pressure. The electric current was discharged so as to rapidly raise the temperature of graphite and iron (solids) before the surrounding press would conduct the thermal energy away minimizing the conversion to diamond. This is the subject of this 1964 patent: huge pressures [100,000 atmosphere (1,000,000 psi) pressures] and low volt electric currents for resistive heating solid carbon and iron! Such system and the physics is much different from the phenomena occurring during lightning striking a sample like hydrocarbon gas or solid carbon as I discovered in 2005 and submitted a patent in June 5, 2006. Unlike Bundy's low potential (10s of volts) heating of the graphite, the huge volts (millions of volts) in lightning as noted by RBL in 2006 introduces magnetic and electric field effects on the electrons about the nucleus of the atoms to revolve the electrons into different hybridizations ('the Little Effect') in this case for carbon atoms sp2 (graphitic reactant) to sp3 (diamond product) thereby eliminating the need for extremely high pressures and in this case catalyst like iron for forming diamond of the carbon reactant. Such phenomena as discovered by RBL during early 2000 were unknown in the 1960s and not known by Bundy and this 1964 French patent. In addition to the differing pressure, temperature, and electric volt condition, the reactants of Bundy are not gases. RBL in Treatise on Diamond extended the effect from solid to gases in 2005 (where magmatic CO2 and iron where proposed to be struck by lightning to form diamond and the iron lava give stability to the formed diamond of the lava). The first discovery of this phenomena of lightning transforming gas to diamond as in the Tolbachik volcano is Reginald B. Little from 2006; it is not Francis Bundy from 1964.
Thanks you. Art and science have relationship. The Universe is beautiful! I would like to enjoy some of your art work.
I thank you for the response and the patent number. I looked up this patent 1367388 and like Joshi noted the patent does not match the subject of diamond and electric discharge. This patent 1367388 has to do with purifying aldehydes from a synthesis. I would be very happy if this finding of diamond from lightning during the 2012-13 Tolbachik volcano is true as I proposed such process in 2000 as a result of realizing strong magnetic field could nucleate diamond at atmospheric pressure. In 2006 I submitted a patent on forming diamond from lightning bolts based on the strong electric and accompanying strong magnetic field in the bolt. On yesterday, I searched a French patent base and found 2 French patents on diamond from 1964: "Apparatus for synthesizing diamond" [Rocherolles Raymond] and "A method for modifying the electrical conductivity of the modified diamond and diamond obtained by this process" [General Electric] . Neither of these French patents involve gas and high electric fields for forming diamond as they both involve high pressure processes and use of electric current as a source of heat (much different from the role of lightning in forming diamond!!! One did note using electric field to dope a solid existing diamond with Al or B at pressures wherein diamond was known to nucleate over 5 GPa. But on the other hand, I would like to note that I gave a distinct new mechanism in 2000 whereby the high electric field and strong magnetism by what is known as Little Effect alters C hybridization to nucleate diamond in USA patent in 2006 (http://www.google.com/patents/US20090016950). I also noted my experimental formation of nanodiamond by a lightning strike at Florida National Lightning Research Center in 2008: ( http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0079678608000046).
Thanks, RBL