Diamonds produced from tequila

[fnord]

I knew there was a reason i love alcohol so much!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7725815.stm

[top] Diamonds produced from tequila

By Greg Morsbach, BBC News
A method of producing synthetic diamonds using tequila - Mexico's favourite alcoholic drink - has been discovered, scientists there say.

The amazing discovery was made by physicists from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and could have many industrial uses.

There is one catch however. The synthetic diamond crystals are too small to be turned into jewellery.

Mexico produces hundreds of millions of litres of tequila every year.

Annual sales to the US alone are worth about $500m.

The head of the scientific team, Miguel Apatica explained to the BBC how they came up with their discovery.

"First of all we turn the liquid tequila into vapour by using a lot of heat. The gas molecules are then broken up into tiny particles. Then we increase the heat even further - to around 800 degrees celsius."

"The end result is that we get carbon atoms which are then deposited in the shape of a very thin diamond film," he added.

The synthetic diamond crystals can only be seen under an electronic microscope.

Although they cannot be used for jewellery, there are plenty of practical applications for them.

They can be used as an alternative to silicone in computer chips or as ultra fine cutting instruments in medical procedures.

One advantage of making diamond film from tequila is that it is extremely cheap.

The scientists found that even the cheapest of tequila brands, averaging at $3 a bottle, are good enough to make diamonds.

Reputation Comments on this post:

	weird news indeed!
	ty 4 the article

[snapper]

Why tequila, and who thought to try this (SWIM imagines a lab party gone awry) ?
SWIM wonders if it works with other kinds of liquor...

[maletwickenham]

Interesting, reminds me of a very funny time a 14 year old boy wanted to steal Swims hamster as he thought he could turn it into a diamond by crushing it. Swim stopped the Kid and gave him some coal.

Anyone up for a liver transplant done with a diamond blade made out of tequila.

[old hippie 56]

Originally Posted by snapper

Why tequila, and who thought to try this (SWIM imagines a lab party gone awry) ?
SWIM wonders if it works with other kinds of liquor...

A good use for this devil piss.