# If I had super strength, could I squeeze coal into diamonds?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-had-super-strength-could-i-squeeze-coal-into-diamonds/504121
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports
**Created:** [July 24, 2009, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-had-super-strength-could-i-squeeze-coal-into-diamonds/504121 "2009-07-24T14:11:43Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2009, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-had-super-strength-could-i-squeeze-coal-into-diamonds/504121/1 "2009-07-24T14:11:43Z")
> **[If I had super strength, could I squeeze coal into diamonds?](https://www.straightdope.com/21343980/if-i-had-super-strength-could-i-squeeze-coal-into-diamonds)**
I don’t think the temperature requirement is a problem. Superman could presumably exert white dwarf-level pressure upon the carbon sample. If nothing else simply compressing the sample that much would provide the necessary heat. My objection is that I don’t know if even Superman could keep the now supercompressed and essentially liquid sample from leaking out of his hands.
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### Author:  [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2009, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-had-super-strength-could-i-squeeze-coal-into-diamonds/504121/2 "2009-07-24T14:36:04Z")
He’s Superman.
Una’s now my hero.
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### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2009, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-had-super-strength-could-i-squeeze-coal-into-diamonds/504121/3 "2009-07-24T14:52:27Z")
Excellent thread/username combo.
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### Author:  [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2009, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-had-super-strength-could-i-squeeze-coal-into-diamonds/504121/4 "2009-07-24T14:53:27Z")
I have to say, that is my favorite article yet. If nothing else, it’s quite funny.
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### Author:  [@Strassia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strassia)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2009, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-had-super-strength-could-i-squeeze-coal-into-diamonds/504121/5 "2009-07-24T14:57:05Z")
Sure he’s Superman, but he’s not Plastic Man. His hand is shaped the same as a normal human. If he applied the pressure with his bare hand, the coal/graphite would shatter due to the uneven pressure and dust would fly out. Some small pieces may get trapped and convert, but unless he can transform his hand into a sealed container and provide even pressure to all surfaces he will need some mechanical help to create diamonds.
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### Author:  [@RoadRage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RoadRage)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2009, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-had-super-strength-could-i-squeeze-coal-into-diamonds/504121/6 "2009-07-24T15:34:55Z")
They are making perfect diamonds now…,.
> **[NOVA | scienceNOW | Diamond Factory | PBS](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/0401/01.html)**
>
> Watch streaming video of the NOVA scienceNOW segment on laboratory-grown, perfectly pure diamonds, hear an audio podcast describing how man-made diamonds might pave the way for the electronics of the future, ask James Butler of the U.S. Naval...
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### Author:  [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2009, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-had-super-strength-could-i-squeeze-coal-into-diamonds/504121/7 "2009-07-24T15:53:13Z")
> [@RoadRage](#):
>
> They are making perfect diamonds now..,.
>
> [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/0401/01.html](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/0401/01.html)
From what I remember, perfect ones are actually worth less, because they obviously couldn’t have come from nature.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-had-super-strength-could-i-squeeze-coal-into-diamonds/504121/8 "2009-07-24T16:19:06Z")
Or at least, so DeBeers would have us think. Fact of the matter is, natural diamonds are downright common anyway.
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### Author:  [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2009, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-had-super-strength-could-i-squeeze-coal-into-diamonds/504121/9 "2009-07-24T16:21:32Z")
I’ve been an Una fan for years–she’s added so much to the boards with her expertise–but now, I think I’ve fallen in love. She’s one of those most rare individuals who can argue with Cecil without ending up as a steaming puddle of protoplasm.
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2009, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-had-super-strength-could-i-squeeze-coal-into-diamonds/504121/10 "2009-07-24T16:32:36Z")
That’s the most entertaining SD column I’ve seen in years.
**Strassia** , Superman has the strength to pick up a car or move a planet and is still able to shake a man’s hand without crushing it into pulpy goo. I think it’s therefore reasonable to assume he has the phenomenal muscle control needed to provide even pressure on the coal or graphite.
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### Author:  [@kfraser34](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kfraser34)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2009, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-had-super-strength-could-i-squeeze-coal-into-diamonds/504121/11 "2009-07-24T16:45:09Z")
LOL @ Wikipedia
“Will you quit with the Wikipedia? From the standpoint of reliability, Wikipedia might as well be written by gorillas”
It is written by gorillas…
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### Author:  [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-had-super-strength-could-i-squeeze-coal-into-diamonds/504121/12 "2009-07-24T17:11:42Z")
> [@kfraser34](#):
>
> LOL @ Wikipedia
>
> “Will you quit with the Wikipedia? From the standpoint of reliability, Wikipedia might as well be written by gorillas”
>
> It is written by gorillas…
Wikipedia Gorillas…band name? It would make a good SDMB user name.
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### Author:  [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2009, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-had-super-strength-could-i-squeeze-coal-into-diamonds/504121/13 "2009-07-24T17:23:57Z")
Oh God, I’m trying not to scream with laughter in the middle of CubeWorld…the last article that had me giggling this hard was If All the Chinese People Jumped at the Same Time, Could it Shift the Earth’s Orbit?
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### Author:  [@Strassia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strassia)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2009, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-had-super-strength-could-i-squeeze-coal-into-diamonds/504121/14 "2009-07-24T18:07:40Z")
> [@Marley23](#):
>
> That’s the most entertaining SD column I’ve seen in years.
>
> **Strassia** , Superman has the strength to pick up a car or move a planet and is still able to shake a man’s hand without crushing it into pulpy goo. I think it’s therefore reasonable to assume he has the phenomenal muscle control needed to provide even pressure on the coal or graphite.
Sure he could provide the exact same pressure with each finger, but he can’t change the shape of his hand. Best case, he uses both palms cupped to create a rough chamber. All the pressure would come from the top and bottom, with no lateral pressure. The pressure distribution may actually allow a diamond to form if the graphite was in a disk form. I still think it would be more likely that he would end up with dust.
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### Author:  [@Lestrade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lestrade)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2009, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-had-super-strength-could-i-squeeze-coal-into-diamonds/504121/15 "2009-07-24T18:16:19Z")
[QUOTE=Cecil]
Una browsed through the technical articles and found one from 1964 showing a photo of a graphite rod that had gotten the HPHT treatment. The ends were still graphite, but the center had been compressed into what the caption claimed was, and sure looked like, a diamond.
[/QUOTE]
Any chance we could get a citation for that article? A quick [google scholar](http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&num=50&q=graphite+diamond+%22high+pressure+high+temperature%22&as_ylo=1964&as_yhi=1964&btnG=Search) search didn’t pull it up and it doesn’t seem to be cited by the relevant [Wikipedia page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_diamond).
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### Author:  [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2009, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-had-super-strength-could-i-squeeze-coal-into-diamonds/504121/16 "2009-07-24T19:09:39Z")
**RoadRage** said:
> [@](#):
>
> They are making perfect diamonds now..,.
The column said as much. They are using the chemical vapor deposition method that Cecil cited.
However, Mythbusters did an episode on how plausible the “make diamonds at home” premise is, using a variety of methods, and they ended up going to a lab in New Mexico that makes diamonds with explosives. Small diamonds. The CVD ones are much bigger.
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### Author:  [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2009, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-had-super-strength-could-i-squeeze-coal-into-diamonds/504121/17 "2009-07-25T00:13:21Z")
> [@Lestrade](#):
>
> Any chance we could get a citation for that article? A quick [google scholar](http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&num=50&q=graphite+diamond+%22high+pressure+high+temperature%22&as_ylo=1964&as_yhi=1964&btnG=Search) search didn’t pull it up and it doesn’t seem to be cited by the relevant [Wikipedia page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_diamond).
See:
Suits, C.G. “Man-Made Diamonds-A Progress Report.” _Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society_, 108.5 (1964): 443-449.
Look specifically for the image at the top of page 445. Alas the image is in black and white.
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### Author:  [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2009, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-had-super-strength-could-i-squeeze-coal-into-diamonds/504121/18 "2009-07-25T01:45:23Z")
That was a great column Una.
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### Author:  [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2009, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-had-super-strength-could-i-squeeze-coal-into-diamonds/504121/19 "2009-07-25T05:48:29Z")
> [@Strassia](#):
>
> Sure he’s Superman, but he’s not Plastic Man. His hand is shaped the same as a normal human. If he applied the pressure with his bare hand, the coal/graphite would shatter due to the uneven pressure and dust would fly out. Some small pieces may get trapped and convert, but unless he can transform his hand into a sealed container and provide even pressure to all surfaces he will need some mechanical help to create diamonds.
I recall a scene in the comic _Star Brand_ where the protagonist tried the crush-coal-into-diamond trick; it spurted out from between his hands and he just ended up covered in black gunk.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2009, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-had-super-strength-could-i-squeeze-coal-into-diamonds/504121/20 "2009-07-25T06:42:45Z")
> [@](#):
>
> It is written by gorillas…
By apes, certainly, but not all apes are gorillas.
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