All You Need to Know About Diamond
The etymological journey of the term diamond begins in the Greek adámas, which came to Latin first as adămas and then as diamas. This is the name given to the precious stone that presents crystallized carbon in a cubic structure, standing out for its hardness, its transparency and its brightness. See Abbreviation Finder for acronyms related to diamond.
When a substance can have different molecular or atomic structures, it has the property known as allotropy. Molecules made up of a single element that have different structures are called allotropes.
A diamond, in this framework, is an allotrope of carbon. In this case, the atoms of this substance are arranged in a cubic crystal system. After graphite, it is the most stable form of carbon.
The strength of the covalent bond that links its atoms makes the diamond have a high hardness and high thermal conductivity. This allows diamonds to have many industrial applications, as well as a high value in jewelry.
The expression diamond in the rough is used to name the individual or object with a lot of potential, but that still requires development or polishing. For example: “This player is a diamond in the rough, although he still has many things to learn”, “Investors think that our company is a diamond in the rough”.
Precisely, the way in which we know the diamond in jewelry and ornaments is obtained after a long carving process, which consists of the following five phases: crossing, sawing, roughing, cross-cutting and polishing. Only after performing these operations on a rough diamond (also called an octahedral, given its appearance), is it possible to transform it into a cut one (or dodecahedral), a job that requires a lot of dedication and precision.
Throughout the cruise phase, it is possible to divide the diamond into two parts. The first step is to draw a line on its surface, place a steel sheet there and hit it dry. In this way, we obtain two more suitable portions for the following phases and we also eliminate crystallization defects, cracks or mirrors, inclusions and piqués, among other characteristics that are not accepted in a cut diamond.
Sawing also consists of cutting a diamond into two parts, for subsequent grinding or carving. Unlike the cruise, it allows us to keep the tips. Currently it is possible to use automated machines, both mechanical and laser for this operation.
Rounding out the belt is the roughing phase, which serves to define the final shape of the diamond before it is cut. There are two types of roughing machines, each suitable for a different size of stone.
During cross cutting we generate the facets of the diamond, something that requires a combination of skill and experience. In general, there are three people who undertake this phase and the last one, polishing, which consists of smearing the stone with an abrasive product and rubbing it against a disk until a completely polished result is achieved.
The French deck, on the other hand, has a suit called a diamond. The cards in this group have red rhombuses that symbolize diamonds.
In countries such as Venezuela, Mexico and Cuba, the inner sector of the field used in baseball games is called a diamond. It is a quadrangular-shaped area, at whose vertices the bases are located that the players who are in offensive action must try to reach.
Diamante, finally, is the name of a department and a city in Argentina, belonging to the province of Entre Ríos.