Scientists studying diamonds inside an ancient meteorite have found a strange interwoven structure.
Researchers say that the structure has unique properties that could be used to develop new types of electronics.
The diamond structures were locked inside the meteorite that slammed into Earth 50,000 years ago. Most people don't know that the diamonds in this meteorite are different from what they're used to. Diamonds were formed around 90 miles (150 kilometers) beneath Earth's surface at a temperature of more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The atoms of the carbon are arranged in a way that makes them appear smaller.
The diamonds inside the Canyon Diablo meteorite are named after Dame Kathleen Lonsdale, University College London's first female professor, and have hexagonal crystal structures. Diamonds are formed under extremely high pressures and temperatures. lonsdaleite is formed only when asteroids strike Earth at high speeds, because scientists have successfully made it in a lab.
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The diamond hauled from deep inside Earth has never before been seen.
The researchers found something strange while studying the meteorite. The researchers found growths of another carbon-based material called Graphene interlocking with the diamond instead of the hexagonal structures they were expecting. These growths are known as diaphites and are found inside the meteorite. The researchers said in a statement that the layers don't line up perfectly because of stacking fault.
The scientists wrote in the study that finding diaphites in the meteorite suggests that it can be found in other carbonaceous material. The researchers have a better idea of the pressures and temperatures that need to be created.
A sheet of carbon is arranged in hexagonal shapes. The material has a lot of potential applications. One day, it could be used for more targeted medicines, tinier electronics, and lighting-fast charging, because it is both light as a feather and as strong as a diamond.
The discovery of these growths inside meteorites will allow researchers to learn more about how they form and how to make them.
It should be possible to design materials that are both ultra-hard and also ductile, as well as have variable electronic properties, thanks to the controlled layer growth of structures.
The strange new structures were described in the journal.
It was originally published on Live Science
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