Extraterrestrial Diamonds

[drk14]

Fascinating article:

https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/scientists-recreate-diamond-rain-of-uranus-and-neptune-in-lab

Apparently, It rains diamonds on the planets Neptune and Uranus. And not tiny ones either -- from the article:

"Astronomers think that the forces at work deep in the frozen mantles of Uranus and Neptune are likely so powerful that each of the diamonds formed could weigh millions of carats. It is also possible that the solid cores of both planets are coated with a thick diamond outer layer."

With advances in commercial space travel, is extraterrestrial diamond mining in the future?

 

[SimoneDi]

Very interesting article @drk14 ! Considering humans' greedy nature, extraterrestrial mining perhaps may not be the greatest goal, however, being able to replicate the process and produce "diamond rain" in controlled conditions is pretty fascinating. It makes one wonder what is the future of man-made diamond on earth. There is certainly a use for them in the commercial & medical fields.

 

[drk14]

@SimoneDi , yes, the ability to replicate "diamond rain" in the lab may have implications for lab grown diamonds (especially if it turns out that the process created by Dr. Kraus is more efficient than existing manufacturing porcesses), but for a RockyTalky thread, I thought the availability of an enormous supply of million-carat diamonds just a few planets down the line would make a more appropriate topic...

If extraterrestrial diamond mining becomes a reality (and floods the market), should we expect marketing slogans (from the companies still mining on Earth) along the line "She deserves an Earth Diamond..." ?

 

[OoohShiny]

A million carats?

I'm sure someone would still halo it... lol