# Nuke us some damned diamonds! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 17, 2000, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuke-us-some-damned-diamonds/37282 "2000-10-17T17:32:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stupendous\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Stupendous\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stupendous_man)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuke-us-some-damned-diamonds/37282/1 "2000-10-17T17:32:40Z")
Ok, since people are so curious about the benefits of nukes lately, I have an interesting test. We all know that diamonds are hunks of carbon that have been subjected to tremendous heat and pressure. I say send a nuke down into a coal mine and cook us up some diamonds right quick! And if they don’t turn out to be jewelery grade, hey, at least we can make sandpaper and drill-bits from them, no? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![howardsims](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e8c25b/32.png) [@howardsims](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/howardsims)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuke-us-some-damned-diamonds/37282/2 "2000-10-17T17:34:20Z")
And radioactive… “Oh honey thanks for the ring. Hmm, wonder why tumors are growing on my finger?” ---
**Author:** ![RESOL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecc23a/32.png) [@RESOL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RESOL)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuke-us-some-damned-diamonds/37282/3 "2000-10-17T18:02:24Z")
Here at Clarkson University we are working on growing dimonds and other gems in zero gravity…and it has been done we don’t need no stinkin nukes ---
**Author:** ![Biffer\_Spice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@Biffer\_Spice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffer_Spice)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuke-us-some-damned-diamonds/37282/4 "2000-10-17T18:04:17Z")
If diamonds ceased to be rare, that is that anyone who wanted one could have one, they would cease to be valuable or desirable. ---
**Author:** ![Inky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7feea3/32.png) [@Inky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inky_1)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuke-us-some-damned-diamonds/37282/5 "2000-10-17T18:05:18Z")
A better (and more humane) approach might simply be to nuke the South African DeBeers cartel. ---
**Author:** ![Stupendous\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Stupendous\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stupendous_man)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuke-us-some-damned-diamonds/37282/6 "2000-10-17T18:40:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RESOL \* > \*\*Here at Clarkson University we are working on growing dimonds and other gems in zero gravity…and it has been done > > we don’t need no stinkin nukes \*\* Interesting! Have you got a link to that project on the university site? ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuke-us-some-damned-diamonds/37282/7 "2000-10-17T18:46:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stupendous man \* > \*\*Ok, since people are so curious about the benefits of nukes lately, I have an interesting test. > We all know that diamonds are hunks of carbon that have been subjected to tremendous heat and pressure. > > I say send a nuke down into a coal mine and cook us up some diamonds right quick! And if they don’t turn out to be jewelery grade, hey, at least we can make sandpaper and drill-bits from them, no? > > 😉 \*\* Where are you going to pick them up? 2 states over? ---
**Author:** ![Stupendous\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Stupendous\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stupendous_man)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuke-us-some-damned-diamonds/37282/8 "2000-10-17T19:13:34Z")
\*\* [/QUOTE] Where are you going to pick them up? 2 states over? \*\* [/QUOTE] If they are deep enough underground, therey wouldn’t breach the surface. Just dig for em’ again. It’s just that simple! ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuke-us-some-damned-diamonds/37282/9 "2000-10-17T19:33:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stupendous man \* > \*\* > Where are you going to pick them up? 2 states over? > \*\* If they are deep enough underground, therey wouldn’t breach the surface. Just dig for em’ again. It’s just that simple! [/QUOTE] You first, Tumor-Boy. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuke-us-some-damned-diamonds/37282/10 "2000-10-17T20:40:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Biffer Spice \* > \*\*If diamonds ceased to be rare, that is that anyone who wanted one could have one, they would cease to be valuable or desirable. \*\* Except that diamonds really aren’t that rare to begin with. They have an economic property which overrides the law of supply and demand, a property my economics professor calls “The Shiny Factor.” And then there’s that whole evil De Beers monopoly thing… ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuke-us-some-damned-diamonds/37282/11 "2000-10-17T20:57:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by friedo \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Biffer Spice \* > > \*\*If diamonds ceased to be rare, that is that anyone who wanted one could have one, they would cease to be valuable or desirable. \*\* > > Except that diamonds really aren’t that rare to begin with. They have an economic property which overrides the law of supply and demand, a property my economics professor calls “The Shiny Factor.” > > And then there’s that whole evil De Beers monopoly thing… \*\* **friedo:** You just contradicted yourself (or your economics prof) twice, dude. Diamonds are expensive because there is a lot of demand for them (Shiny Factor) and the supply is limited (by the DeBeers monopoly.) Their price, given demand and the current supply situation, is exactly what would be predicted by the laws of supply and demand. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuke-us-some-damned-diamonds/37282/12 "2000-10-17T21:06:52Z")
I think that **friedo** ’s point was that the supply is artificially decreased, and the demand is artificially increased-- Though I’m not too sure of the latter; if people like “shiny things”, then that’s as legitimate a demand as any other. Of course, even if diamonds ceased to be valuable for jewelry, they’d still be a very useful material for many practical purposes. ---
**Author:** ![djbdjb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@djbdjb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djbdjb)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuke-us-some-damned-diamonds/37282/13 "2000-10-17T21:07:50Z")
my comment is more about nukes than diamonds: There is mention in a book called ‘The Curve of Binding Energy’ about engineering nukes to drill tunnels. That book may also mention the Orion spaceship: An idea that sounds completely nutty: A spaceship powered by bombs going off behind a large ‘pusher’ plate (connected to a shock absorber). Also, we’ll need nukes for a defense system against Earth-crossing asteroid impacts. Nukes are our friends! ---
**Author:** ![Stupendous\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Stupendous\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stupendous_man)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuke-us-some-damned-diamonds/37282/14 "2000-10-17T21:09:51Z")
\>You first, Tumor-Boy. Ha HA! Mere radiation has no effect on… Stupendous Man! ---
**Author:** ![Stupendous\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Stupendous\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stupendous_man)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuke-us-some-damned-diamonds/37282/15 "2000-10-17T21:11:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by djbdjb \* > \*\*my comment is more about nukes than diamonds: > There is mention in a book called ‘The Curve of Binding Energy’ about engineering nukes to drill tunnels. That book may also mention the Orion spaceship: An idea that sounds completely nutty: A spaceship powered by bombs going off behind a large ‘pusher’ plate (connected to a shock absorber). Also, we’ll need nukes for a defense system against Earth-crossing asteroid impacts. > > Nukes are our friends! \*\* Any asteroid big enough to be a bother to us will have almost no side-effects from being nuked… ---
**Author:** ![tomas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@tomas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomas)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuke-us-some-damned-diamonds/37282/16 "2000-10-17T21:11:46Z")
The Russians have succeeded in producing diamonds for sale as jewelry, not just industrial grade. They are being sold in the states now at reduced prices. De Beers is frantic from what I have seen in a documentary on the same and are calling for some type of marking. Apparently, the synthetic diamonds are indistinguishable from “naturally formed” and can only be spotted under controlled lighting conditions. If these that I have personally seen are the real Russian synthetics(I did not examine these with a loop)than I can understand De Beers’ concern. They were quite impressive, and alot cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![funneefarmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@funneefarmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/funneefarmer)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuke-us-some-damned-diamonds/37282/17 "2000-10-17T21:12:29Z")
From [Vomit Comet and Research](http://www.space.com/news/spaceagencies/french_vomitcomet_000602.html) "Aboard this flight, the 28th parabolic flight campaign organized by ESA, 11 teams of European researchers try to work on scientific experiments they want to conduct on board small experimental rockets and, later, the International Space Station. “It’s a perfect gravity-free environment to fine-tune our experiment and to get science data in real time,” says Jean-Michel Beuken, scientist at the Belgium University of Louvain. His work is to investigate the synthesis of new forms of carbon, including artificial micro-diamonds, by applying a strong electric discharge between two graphite electrodes. " ---
**Author:** ![Zarathustra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/898d66/32.png) [@Zarathustra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zarathustra)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuke-us-some-damned-diamonds/37282/18 "2000-10-17T21:34:28Z")
Edward Teller might like this thread, as well as [this one from a few months ago.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=24807) ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuke-us-some-damned-diamonds/37282/19 "2000-10-17T21:35:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stupendous man \* > \*\*Any asteroid big enough to be a bother to us will have almost no side-effects from being nuked… \*\* I don’t think that this is correct. If we noticed that an asteroid was on a collision course with Earth with lots and lots of time to spare, it wouldn’t take that much of a push to change its orbit enough for it to miss the Earth. A nuke could provide this little push, or a hundred nukes, or a thousand nukes. ---
**Author:** ![Stupendous\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Stupendous\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stupendous_man)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuke-us-some-damned-diamonds/37282/20 "2000-10-17T22:04:55Z")
\*\* [/QUOTE] I don’t think that this is correct. If we noticed that an asteroid was on a collision course with Earth with lots and lots of time to spare, it wouldn’t take that much of a push to change its orbit enough for it to miss the Earth. A nuke could provide this little push, or a hundred nukes, or a thousand nukes. \*\* [/QUOTE] While it is true that that many hundreds of nukes would possibly move an asteroid out of our way, the problem is that if I recall correctly, there aren’t enough nukes around to do the job currently, and even fewer methods of delivering those to a point far away from earth in space that the asteroid would be deflected in time. The closer it gets, the more energy you require to push it away. Eventually, all of the nuculear bombs capable of being produced on earth wouldn’t do the trick. Right now, there is no plan of action if an asteroid were discovered heading for us. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuke-us-some-damned-diamonds/37282.md?page=2)