Diamonds

Apparently it is now possible to create diamonds with essentially identical physical properties to natural diamonds. Here is a great article on the subject. The way things are going I half expect the space shuttle to be pure diamond in fifty years. That is a material that because of how common its basic materials to construct are, and how hard it is could really change the world.


Oh, and a great quote from the article I linked:

"Natural diamonds aren't particularly rare. In 2006, more than 75,000 pounds were produced worldwide. A diamond is a precious commodity because everyone thinks it's a precious commodity, the geological equivalent of a bouquet of red roses, elegant and alluring, a symbol of romance, but ultimately pretty ordinary."

""There was a copper age and a steel age," Bryant says. "Next will be diamond.""