Scientists have developed a new technique when it comes to growing diamonds, and the process only takes 15 minutes. The process of retrieving natural diamonds from the Earth requires high pressure and high temperature environments, as does the currently used process to create artificial diamonds. The new lab-grown precious gems are created without the use of a starter gem and don’t require special atmosphere conditions to grow. By using a combination of gallium, nickel, iron, and silicon to spark the process, diamonds start to synthesize in as little as 15 minutes and are fully formed in under three hours. There is still a lot of work to be done on the process for it to produce diamonds that can be used for commercial purposes like jewelry, but the success shows that climate-friendly alternatives are possible when it comes to procuring precious gems.
Image via Live Science
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