Scientists have confirmed that a mysterious type of diamond found on Earth came from outer space.
New research shows that the strange diamonds, which are believed to be much harder than diamonds found on Earth, came from an ancient dwarf planet in our solar system.
Scientists studied 18 samples of ureilite meteorites – rare type of stony meteorite with a unique mineralogical composition – found in Australia and North Africa, some of which contained the diamonds.
In lonsdaleite diamonds, the atoms have a hexagonal structure, instead of a cubic structure as in regular diamonds, which is what possibly makes them harder.
The study, published in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences journal on Monday, was led by scientists from Monash University, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University (RMIT), the Australian Synchrotron and Plymouth University and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, an Australian government agency for scientific research.
“This study proves categorically that lonsdaleite [hexagonal diamond] exists in nature,” said Dougal McCulloch, director of the RMIT microscopy and microanalysis facility.
“We have also discovered the largest lonsdaleite crystals known to date that are up to a micron in size ― much, much thinner than a human hair.”
The researchers believe that the diamonds may have formed shortly after the dwarf planet collided with a large asteroid about 4.5 billion years ago.
Of the 18 ureilites examined, all contained graphite, most had a diamond and a small number had lonsdaleite.
The team used advanced electron microscopy techniques to capture solid and intact slices from the meteorites.
This helped create snapshots of how lonsdaleite and regular diamonds formed.
“There’s strong evidence that there’s a newly discovered formation process for the lonsdaleite and regular diamond, which is like a supercritical chemical vapour deposition process that has taken place in these space rocks, probably in the dwarf planet shortly after a catastrophic collision,” Prof McCulloch said.
“Chemical vapour deposition is one of the ways that people make diamonds in the lab, essentially by growing them in a specialised chamber.”
It is believed that the unusual structure of lonsdaleite could help create new manufacturing techniques for ultra-hard materials in mining.
Cubic diamonds on Earth were formed more than three billion years ago deep within the Earth’s crust.
When intense heat and pressure cause carbon atoms to crystallise, diamonds form.
They are found at a depth of about 150 to 200 kilometres below the surface of Earth.
There is ongoing research on whether these diamonds may also form elsewhere in space when asteroids collide, pushing carbon inside to form these crystals.
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Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
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- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
Conservative MPs who have publicly revealed sending letters of no confidence
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- Peter Bone
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- Simon Clarke
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