6 November: Diamonds

On this date in 1869, Diamonds were discovered at Kimberley, in Cape Province, South Africa. 10 things you didn’t know about diamonds:

1. The word diamond derives from the Greek word “adamas,” which means invincible or indestructible. Which is about right, as diamond is the hardest substance known to man. The thing that could cut through a diamond would be another diamond.
2. Diamonds are made from the element carbon, resulting from extreme pressure deep within the Earth’s core, about 100 miles below ground. The oldest diamonds are believed to have been crystallised approximately 3.3 billion years ago. Over time, volcanic eruptions bring them to the surface.
3. In ancient Rome, they believed that diamonds were tears cried by the gods. They also probably started the association of diamonds with romantic love, since they believed Cupid’s arrows were tipped with them.
4. The Ancient Greeks believed diamonds were splinters of stars which had fallen to Earth. Modern science shows that actually, they weren’t far wrong. Scientists believe that Diamonds exist in carbon-rich stars, particularly white dwarfs, which can have a core made entirely of diamond. In 2007, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics announced that they’d found star with a 10 billion-trillion-trillion carat diamond core. They named it Lucy, after the Beatles song, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. If diamonds can form deep inside our planet, then it stands to reason they’re probably inside larger planets, too, especially if they’re rich in carbon. In 2004, scientists discovered a planet they believe is one-third pure diamond. It orbits a nearby star in the Milky Way, and has been given the somewhat unromantic name “55 Cancri e”. In our own solar system, scientists have theorised that on Uranus and Neptune it may actually rain diamonds.
5. Other ancient cultures believed that diamonds gave a person strength and courage and could protect them from danger. Kings, therefore, would wear armour studded with diamonds, and the eyes of statues of Hindu gods were often made from them.
6. Most diamonds are clear, colourless crystals, but occasionally diamonds in other colours are found. Red, Blue, Pink, Yellow, Brown, Black, Orange and Green diamonds have been found, and they are extremely rare. Coloured diamonds are the result of defects and impurities. For example, a yellow or brown diamond will have nitrogen in it, and a blue diamond has boron. Irradiation by alpha particles causes green diamonds.
7. The top ten diamond producing countries in the world are Russia, Botswana, Australia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Canada, Angola, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Sierra Leone. A blood diamond is one which has been produced by a diamond mine which has been taken over by a revolutionary group in order to finance their activities.
8. The largest diamond ever discovered was The Cullinan Diamond, which weighed 3106 carats. (Incidentally, the word “Carat” is thought to derive from the Carob Bean – an ancient unit of weight. The beans are so uniform and consistent they could be used as a counter weight on a balance scale.) Discovered in 1905 in South Africa, the mine’s owner and the South African leaders gave the diamond to King Edward.
9. The diamond engagement ring dates to 1477, when Archduke Maxmillian of Austria gave Mary of Burgundy a gold ring featuring an M spelled out in diamonds.
10. Today, the majority of diamonds are mined underground or undersea using heavy machinery and high-tech equipment. Before any of that was invented, diamonds were found on river beds in a process called alluvial mining. Scientists can make them in a laboratory, too. Approximately 80% of diamonds mined, however, never find their way onto an engagement ring or a necklace. They are destined for industrial uses.

Killing Me Softly

Sebastian Garrett is an assassin. It wasn’t his first choice of vocation, but nonetheless, he’s good at it, and can be relied upon to get the job done. He’s on top of his game.

Until he is contracted to kill Princess Helena of Galorvia. She is not just any princess. Sebastian doesn’t bargain on his intended victim being a super-heroine who gives as good as she gets. Only his own genetic variant power saves him from becoming the victim, instead of Helena. 

Fate has another surprise in store. Sebastian was not expecting to fall in love with her.

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