Milford chronicle., 1905-10-20
MAKING DIAMONDS.
Ehe Process Is simple, but the Re-
suit Is Microscopic.

Ehe Process Is simple, but the Re-
suit Is Microscopic.
Sir William Crookes in the course Of
a lecture on Diamonds" before the
British association at Kimberley the
other day explained to the assembled
company how the precious gems might
be manufactured.
"The first necessity" he said. "is to
select pure iron free from sulphur, sill
con, phosphorus, etc, and to pack it in
a carbon crucible with pure charcoal
from sugar" The crucible must then
be put into the body of the electric fur
mace. after a few minutes heating
TO a temperature above 1000 degrees
C., a temperature at which the iron
melts like wax and volatilizes ia clouds,
the current is stopped, and the daz-
cling. fiery crucible IS plunged beneath
the surface of cold water, where it is
held till it sinks below red heat.
"The sudden cooling soIidiies the
outer layer Of iron and holds the inner
molten mass in n tight grip. The ex-
pansion Of the inner liquid on solidify-
ais HAUAnANa an EAAJA MUS PRESSURE
and under the stress Of this pressure
the dissolved carbon separates out in
transparent forms minutely micro
scopic, it is true-all the same verita-
bic diamonds, with crystalline form |
and appearance color hardness and |
action on light the same as the natural |
gem"
AffnsrffnV, oil 10
tiOn that the diamond is q gift from /
heaven conveyed to earth in meteoric
showers. According to this hypothesis,
said the lecturer, holes were bored in
the earth by the impact Of monstrous
meteors. the larger masses boring the
holes, while the smaller masses dis
integrating in their fall, distributed
diamonds broadcast.
Bizarre as such a theory is" observ-
ed the great scientist, Il am bound to
say there are many circumstances
which show that the notion Of the
heavens raining diamonds is not i'm
possible" In proof Of this he showed
the audience photographs of diamonds
he had extracted from a meteorite
The lecture abounded in interesting r
passages. Here is one:
1T is not uncommon for a diamond v
to explode soon after it reaches the
surface. Some have been known to 3
burst in the pockets of the miners or
when held in the warm hand, and the
loss is the greater because large stones
ire more liable to explode or fly in {
pieces than small ones. yv .
valuable stones have been destroyed
n this way, and it is whispered that "a
dealers are not averse to al m
owing responsible clients to handle or tn
AIRY in their warm pockets large crys- "a
ais fresh from the mine. By way of
against explosion some deal
rs imbed large diamonds in raw pota-
, to insure safe transit to England"
By the end of 1904 ten tons of dia- H.
lOnds had come from the Kimberley o
lines, valued at f6O,O0O,0OO. This c,'
lass of gems could be accommodated nj
/ box five feet square and six feet eit
Ugh.
According to the lecturer, one Of the fan
ost remarkable gems in existence is on
phOsphorescing diamond in the pos on
,ssiOn of Mrs. Kunz of New York.
hich will phosphoresce in the dark ""
II some minutes after being exposed ler
small pocket electric light and if ant
lbbed on Il piece of cloth leaves a
ng streak of phosphorescence.-Lo fill
IN Mail. !