Richard Sherwood
Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2002
- Messages
- 4,924
An interesting aspect of the Hope diamond, a 45.52 ct. blue (originally from the famed Golconda mine in India), is the presence of a very rare and intense phosphorescence:
"The Hope Diamond was known to have an unusual reddish-orange long-lived phosphorescence - i.e. when illuminated with ultraviolet (UV) light and observed in a darkened room, the Hope diamond would glow for many minutes after the light source was turned off, appearing like a hot coal from a fire. While this phosphorescence had been photographed, it had never been studied scientifically. Such phosphorescence, particularly with an intense red color, is a rare phenomena in natural diamonds." (http://www.physorg.com/news6027.html)
Isn't that cool? It's like this diamond is a mystery in so many ways.
I'd give a king's ransom (well, at least a cup of Barnies coffee) for a photo of that phosphorescence. Has anyone ever run across one? Anything similar?
"The Hope Diamond was known to have an unusual reddish-orange long-lived phosphorescence - i.e. when illuminated with ultraviolet (UV) light and observed in a darkened room, the Hope diamond would glow for many minutes after the light source was turned off, appearing like a hot coal from a fire. While this phosphorescence had been photographed, it had never been studied scientifically. Such phosphorescence, particularly with an intense red color, is a rare phenomena in natural diamonds." (http://www.physorg.com/news6027.html)
Isn't that cool? It's like this diamond is a mystery in so many ways.
I'd give a king's ransom (well, at least a cup of Barnies coffee) for a photo of that phosphorescence. Has anyone ever run across one? Anything similar?