Diamonds are one of the hardest and most prized gems in the world, but now they may have some competition.
Scientists have discovered a new carbon-based material that forms diamond-like crystals but rivals its sparkly cousin in both toughness and abundance.
The new synthetic gems are also magnetic and can glow in the dark.
The North Carolina State University team behind the find is calling the new material "Q-carbon," which they made by accident while testing a new method to quickly create synthetic diamonds.
The scientists pulsed laser light onto a piece of plain old carbon, warming up the material to scorching temperatures and melting it into a puddle. The liquid rapidly cooled, and in the process unexpectedly formed a third, brand-new phase of diamond-like carbon with bizarre new properties.
"The only place [Q-carbon] may be found in the natural world would be possibly in the core of some planets," lead author Jagdish Narayan said in a press release.
Q-carbon diamonds are stronger and denser than typical diamonds, due to the shortened bonds between atoms made during the rapid heating and cooling process, Smithsonian reports.
They're also magnetic at room temperature — a very strange property for solid carbon — and emit tiny amounts of fluorescent light, which might be useful for electronic applications, according to Smithsonian.
The heating and cooling technique used to make Q-carbon is lightening-fast compared to the way natural diamonds form. Earth's recipe involves squeezing carbon under intense pressure and heat for up to billions of years — and several hundred miles below the crust, deep in the mantle.
The newly-minted process can be done at normal temperature and air pressure, the researchers reported Monday in the Journal of Applied Physics. And it takes only 15 minutes, researchers told The New York Times.
"Through the fast process we can essentially fool Mother Nature," Narayan told Smithsonian.
Q-carbon is also cheaper to make than other lab-grown diamond processes.
At the moment, the diamonds that the process creates are tiny — about the width of a human hair. But the team hopes that in the future they can either use larger lasers to make giant gems, or create throngs of teeny tiny diamonds that could be used in smart displays, abrasive powders, and other medical uses, the team reports.
But Narayan and his team will be busy confirming all of Q-carbon's super-strong and unique properties before putting it work in real life. Until then, you'll have to make do with the slightly weaker but significantly more expensive gems of jewelry stores of yore.
