Chan's Personal Blog

Today at work we were talking about diamonds because one of my co-workers was thinking of buying one for his girlfriend. We got talking about man-made diamonds, and I mentioned that man-made diamonds are now as good, perhaps better than the real thing.

My source for my claim is this interesting article from Wired Magazine entitled, "The New Diamond Age." It's a six-page article that's well worth the read. The article talks about an American company who is able to create diamonds for a few hundred dollars. The diamonds that are produced are absolutely flawless, and trained professionals can't tell them apart from diamonds created by the earth.

Wired does a good job of covering the issues surrounding diamonds, from social to technological implications. They talk about the social implications of diamonds caused by the evil De Beers cartel. Technologically, they talk about the benefits that will come with the rise of cheap diamonds.

A snippet from the article:

"Diamond, it turns out, is a geek's best friend. Not only is it the hardest substance known, it also has the highest thermal conductivity - tremendous heat can pass through it without causing damage. Today's speedy microprocessors run hot - at upwards of 200 degrees Fahrenheit. In fact, they can't go much faster without failing. Diamond microchips, on the other hand, could handle much higher temperatures, allowing them to run at speeds that would liquefy ordinary silicon. But manufacturers have been loath even to consider using the precious material, because it has never been possible to produce large diamond wafers affordably. With the arrival of Gemesis, the Florida-based company, and Apollo Diamond, in Boston, that is changing. Both startups plan to use the diamond jewelry business to finance their attempt to reshape the semiconducting world."