Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Friday 3 august 2018

Deep origin of rare blue diamonds revealed in their flaws

By CHRISTINA LARSON floor was pushed down
AP Science Writer when plates that make up
WASHINGTON (AP) — Blue the Earth's crust collided.
diamonds — like the Smith- The element allows the
sonian's famous Hope dia- stone to absorb some red
mond — are the rarest of all light, so the diamond looks
and how they formed more blue.
than a billion years ago is a Their findings were pub-
bit of a mystery. Now scien- lished Wednesday in the
tists think they have a glim- journal Nature.
mer of an answer. "Most of the impurities con-
They've long known that tained in these blue dia-
the blue tint comes from monds came from a very
traces of boron in the dia- deep source," said Dong-
mond. zhou Zhang, a scientist at
But the element is most- the University of Hawaii,
ly found near the Earth's who was not involved in
surface, not deep down the research. "This study
where diamonds are typi- tells us for the first time that
cally created. blue diamonds are formed
Researchers scrutinized 46 very deep in the interior of
blue diamonds, studying Earth."
imperfections in the gems Diamond deposits even-
for clues. This undated photo made available by the Smithsonian Institution shows the Hope Diamond. tually reach the surface
"The origin of blue dia- Associated Press through volcanic eruptions.
monds is such an alluring The 45-carat, walnut-size
question — you don't see Earth. As they form, they rock — at the Gemological Based on their findings, it's Hope diamond, long ru-
them very often. And the can trap tiny bits of rock in- Institute of America. How clear that blue diamonds mored to carry a curse,
famous ones, like the Hope side — like fossils in amber. the light is reflected helps are formed at far greater wasn't included in the study
diamond, have such mys- "Diamond is an extraordi- identify the minerals inside, depths than other dia- but the findings help us
tique," said Kim Tait, a gem nary container, a time cap- said Evan Smith, a research monds, some deeper than know where it came from,
expert at the Royal Ontario sule," said Steven Shirey, a scientist at the institute who 410 miles (660 kilometers), said the Toronto museum's
Museum in Toronto. geochemist at the Carn- led the study. Smith said. Most other dia- Tait, who had no role in
Just 1 out of 200,000 dia- egie Institution for Science "You can start putting to- monds are formed be- the research. The Hope
monds are blue. Like all in Washington. gether a picture of what tween about 90 to 125 diamond's many owners
diamonds, they are made Shirey and his colleagues the surrounding rocks miles (150 to 200 kilome- included Marie Antoinette.
when carbon comes under used lasers to examine the looked like, to recreate ters), Shirey said. "It's such an amazing stone,"
intense pressure and ex- diamonds' imperfections the birthplace of the dia- The researchers suggest Tait said.q
treme heat deep inside the — slivers of embedded monds," Smith said. that boron in the ocean

Death Valley sets tentative

world record for hottest month

By JOHN ANTCZAK record, set in Death Valley landscape in the desert
Associated Press in July 2017 when the av- of southeastern California
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The erage was 107.4 degrees that includes Badwater Ba-
natural furnace of Califor- (41.89 Celsius). sin, which at 282 feet (85.9
nia's Death Valley was on "It eclipsed the record by meters) below sea level is
full broil in July, tentatively quite a bit," Lericos said, the lowest point in North
setting a world record for adding that the data is America.
hottest month ever. consideredpreliminary and The valley got its morbid
The month's average tem- needs to be reviewed be- name from a group of pio-
perature was 108.1 degrees fore it goes into official re- neers who got lost there in
In this April 11, 2010 file photo, tourists walk along a ridge at (42.28 Celsius), said Todd cord books. 1849-1850 and thought it
Death Valley National Park, Calif. Preliminary data show that Lericos, a meteorologist in The temperatures are mea- would be the end, accord-
Death Valley set the world record for hottest month in July, the Las Vegas office of the sured at Furnace Creek in ing to the National Park Ser-
2018. National Weather Service. Death Valley National Park, vice. Only one died, how-
Associated Press
That roasted the previous a vast, austere and rugged ever, before they found
their way out.Summer heat
is so routinely extreme that
tourists are warned to drink
at least a gallon (4 liters) of
water each day, carry ad-
ditional water in their cars,
stay close to their vehicles
and watch themselves and
others for dizziness, nau-
sea and other symptoms
of potentially deadly heat
illness.q