Scientists Say Planet May Have Mountains of Diamonds

[Jazzy]

If Earth is the Blue Planet, call this the Bling Planet.



Astronomers say they have spotted a planet that could contain mountains of diamonds.



WASP-12b, a gas giant about 871 light-years from Earth, seems to have an unusually large amount of carbon in its atmosphere. Diamonds form when carbon is compressed at extremely high temperatures.

The high amount of carbon in the planet's atmosphere suggests that its solid core could be full of diamonds, rather than the silicon- and oxygen-rich materials on Earth.



The high carbon-to-oxygen ratio indicates a carbide or diamond interior rather than the silicate geology of the Earth, said Nikku Madhusudhan, a Princeton astrophysicist, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corp.



Full Story: http://www.aolnews.com/science/arti...lanet-may-have-mountains-of-diamonds/19753959

 

[Dennis]

That's quit something to think about. But i don't think we'll find out for sure anytime in the near future, considering that it's 871 light years away.

Although, by the time we do find out, i doubt diamonds are going to be at the high expense rate they are at now.

 

[DrLeftover]

If DeBeers thought for a minute that there was a chance somebody else would mine those diamonds and start selling them, they'd buy the planet and close it to prospecting.

 

[Dennis]

If DeBeers thought for a minute that there was a chance somebody else would mine those diamonds and start selling them, they'd buy the planet and close it to prospecting.

Buy it from whom

 

[Durandal]

Buy it from whom

They'd 'buy' it with their Death Star.

 

[Evil Eye]

If they started mining the price of diamonds would plummet though...

 

[Dennis]

If they started mining the price of diamonds would plummet though...

Not if one company moderated it.

 

[Evil Eye]

Not if one company moderated it.

People would sell them on Ebay and whatnot.

New ones would be expensive but old ones wouldn't be.

 

[Durandal]

People would sell them on Ebay and whatnot.

New ones would be expensive but old ones wouldn't be.

I'm not so sure about that; when it comes to diamond jewelry, it's usually the setting that's 'old' and therefore not worth as much, rather than the diamond. Diamonds don't really have much problems when it comes to degradation. In the rare case a diamond becomes increasingly flawed, then perhaps it would warrant a lower price, but otherwise their value is pretty solid. Hence why you see those movies where bad guys want to trade in diamonds, because like gold, but even more so, diamonds can hold a relatively high and stable value.



If there was a monopoly on the diamonds, there'd be hypothetically no way to recoup costs from a single-seller situation, you'd always be selling at a loss (or dead-even) if you were a re-seller.