Carbon: Synthetic Diamonds

Film info

Film summary

Diamonds take millions of years to form within the Earth's mantle, but now scientists are trying to produce them synthetically.

Key facts

• Diamonds take a long time to form in the Earth's mantle.
• They are made only of carbon, and scientists have tried to produce them in the lab.
• The HTHP process simulates the high temperature and high pressure found in the Earth's mantle to produce small diamonds.
• The CVD, or Chemical Vapor Deposition, method is a more successful method. It uses diamond "seeds" - hydrogen and methane - to produce carbon atoms that latch onto the seed.