Is it my hair that I'm losing? No, it's probably diamonds!

“A diamond is forever.” Diamonds are highly sought after because of their rarity and brilliance. They are known as the king of gemstones and are considered a symbol of everlasting love and eternal marriage. It is precisely because of this concept that diamonds are in short supply and have become a necessity for weddings in today’s society.

The original form of natural diamond is diamond , which is a mineral composed of carbon and an allotrope of graphite. It is often "hidden" about 150 kilometers deep in the earth, under extremely high pressure and over 1000 degrees Celsius, and it takes billions of years to form.

A "River" of Diamonds in a "Sea" of Lonsdaleite

Image source: Physicists' Organization Network

However, with the development of technology, artificial diamonds made from hair, ashes, etc. can be synthesized in just a few days . Isn’t it incredible?

Hair diamond? Love diamond?

Hair can actually be made into diamonds?

In 2007, LifeGem, an American company, used artificial diamond technology to extract 130 mg of carbon from the hair of the famous musician Beethoven, and made three blue gems, which were auctioned at an auction with a starting price of $50,000. Later, the company made a strand of Michael Jackson's hair into diamonds.

Beethoven Diamond Image source: bing.com

In traditional Chinese culture, there is a saying that "hair is the bond of love, and the love between the two is unquestionable". Hair has become a special carrier for Chinese people to express their love and longing for each other, which coincides with the meaning of diamonds. Therefore, artificial custom diamonds with homophonic names such as Qingsi Diamond, Qingsi Diamond and Qingsi Diamond have appeared on the market, giving hair diamonds a unique commemorative meaning to attract consumers.

At this point, some of you may be wondering, how can hair, which seems to have nothing to do with diamonds, be made into diamonds?

Hair is mainly composed of keratin and has a certain degree of heat resistance. Under vacuum conditions, when the temperature exceeds a certain limit, the hair will carbonize. After carbonization, only carbon remains in the hair, and diamonds are composed of carbon, which means that as long as the carbon in the hair is extracted, it can be used to make diamonds.

Image source: Pixabay

Specifically, it is like this:

First, some hair is taken and ground into powder, then carbonized in a vacuum high temperature environment of 1800-3000 degrees Celsius, and then purified to further remove impurities.

Next, diamonds are synthesized through the high temperature and high pressure method. The carbonized hair and other materials are sent into a high temperature and high pressure environment, and the diamond raw stone is patiently waited for to "grow".

Finally, the rough diamond is processed to remove impurities and polished into shape to obtain a finished diamond.

Image source: Reference 2

Different elements retained in the hair after carbonization can produce diamonds of different colors. Isn't it amazing?

I felt heartbroken when I thought about the bunch of tangled hair that fell off when I washed my hair. Those were not hairs that fell off, they were diamonds!

How are diamonds made from hair?

The main methods for making hair into diamonds include high temperature and high pressure (HTHP) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD).

Synthetic diamonds first appeared in 1954, using the high temperature and high pressure method. The principle is to simulate the growth environment of natural diamonds and synthesize diamonds from graphite powder under ultra-high temperature and high pressure conditions.

The high temperature and high pressure method is also called the temperature gradient method, the temperature difference method, and the static pressure catalyst method. Simply put, a tiny diamond is used as a "seed" and pure carbon materials (such as graphite) are used as raw materials to melt and decompose into carbon atoms under ultra-high temperature and high pressure conditions. With the help of metal catalysts, the carbon atoms move toward the diamond "seed" and crystallize to form larger diamond crystals. At the same time, the metal atoms that constitute the catalyst will more or less enter the diamond lattice.

This method is the most widely used method for synthesizing superhard materials in industrial production at home and abroad, and most laboratory-grown diamonds are also produced using this method. The diamonds synthesized by this method are mainly tower-shaped, with fast growth, low cost, better color, and slightly lower purity, but the overall benefits are advantageous, especially in the synthesis of 1-5 carat cultured diamonds.

Image source: Pixabay

The principle of chemical vapor deposition synthetic diamonds is to create a high temperature and low pressure environment, separate active carbon atoms from carbon-containing gases with the help of metal catalysts, and then deposit them on smaller diamond substrates in the form of crystals to grow alternately into large diamond crystals. Compared with the high temperature and high pressure method, chemical vapor deposition synthetic cultured diamonds are plate-shaped, the color is difficult to control, the cultivation cycle is long, and the cost is high, but the purity is high, and it is more suitable for synthesizing cultured diamonds above 5 carats.

Therefore, in theory, any carbon-containing substance can be made into diamonds through the above technology after carbon extraction and graphitization or conversion into gases such as methane, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide. The carbon content in hair is about 45%, and the carbon content in ashes is about 2%, which meets the necessary conditions for the synthesis of artificial diamonds.

Diamonds made of hair

What is the difference with natural diamonds?

It takes billions of years for natural diamonds to form, but it only takes a few weeks to grow a diamond in a laboratory, and the cost is only 1/4-1/8 of the price of natural diamonds. Moreover, laboratory-grown diamonds are of excellent quality and have no difference in appearance from natural diamonds. So the question is, how can we distinguish laboratory-grown diamonds from natural diamonds?

To our eyes, there is no difference between diamonds grown in a laboratory and natural diamonds. They can only be identified using special instruments in a gem laboratory. Therefore, many people also regard artificial diamonds as "fake diamonds".

Image source: Pixabay

However, in 2018, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) redefined the definition of diamonds and classified laboratory-grown diamonds as part of the diamond category; the internationally recognized jewelry appraisal and grading organization GIA also announced in 2019 that it would use "laboratory-grown diamonds" instead of "synthetic diamonds", which means that the diamond industry has redefined the identity of cultured diamonds.

A high-quality hair diamond is grown in a laboratory and must go through the processes of hair carbon extraction, graphitization and growth. Through a series of high-tech techniques, the purity of the diamond reaches the 4C requirements of natural diamonds. Its quality is higher than that of ordinary artificial diamonds and it has unique commemorative significance.

However, in the process of preparing synthetic diamonds, the temperature required to convert biological carbon sources into high-purity graphite is as high as 1000℃, the DNA structure has been destroyed and the biological characteristics have disappeared, becoming an inorganic mineral material with the same physical properties as natural diamonds, and cannot be distinguished from ordinary synthetic diamonds. Therefore, the significance of making diamonds from hair is more of a spiritual sustenance.

Nowadays, more and more people are accepting synthetic diamonds. After all, as decorative jewelry, laboratory-grown diamonds are just as shiny, and they are cheaper than natural diamonds of the same quality.

Many young people choose to make diamond rings with their hair when they get engaged or married, and wear them together with their loved ones, truly realizing "being married with hair tied together, and having undoubted love for each other."

So after reading this article and learning about synthetic diamonds, would you choose to buy a synthetic diamond ring?

Image source: soogif

References:

[1] Chen Qianwang, Lou Zhengsong, Wang Qiang, et al. Research progress in synthetic diamond[J]. Physics, 2005(03): 199-204.

[2] Zhang Zhan, Zhang Qiannan. Introduction to the project of making diamonds from human hair[J]. Superhard Materials Engineering, 2016, 28(02):54-56.

[3] Zhang Zhiguo. History and current status of artificial synthetic diamond[D]. Jilin University, 2006.

[4] Synthetic diamonds from human hair[J]. Modern Team, 2007(07):19.

[5]Qiu Qingyue. Can artificially grown diamonds last forever?[N]. Shenzhen Business Daily, 2022-08-01.

[6] Beethoven’s hair was made into three sparkling diamonds, each worth an estimated $1 million [N]. China Daily Online - Global Online, 2007-09-20.

[7] American company uses Jackson’s hair to make diamonds[N]. China Youth Daily, 2009-07-29.

[8] China, India and the United States dominate the cultured diamond market, and China almost monopolizes the global HPHT production [N]. Caiwen.com, 2022-08-24.

Author: Qiyecao, Master of Materials Engineering, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University