Physicists have revealed new properties of Yakutia diamonds
TSU physicists, working with scientists from Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Germany, and Korea, have discovered new nanomechanical properties of diamonds mined at the Skalnoe deposit of the Popigai astrobleme. Using a combination of experimental and theoretical methods, they proved that this kind of mineral is able to resist all-round compression more strongly than “ideal” specimens. The diamonds of the Popigai crater are used as optical materials in laser systems, so the task of physicists was to compare their properties to the existing analogs.
The Popigai astrobleme is a meteorite crater located in Siberia in the basin of the Popigai River. Its diameter is about 100 km, and it is the fourth largest crater in the world. The Popigai astroblemewas formed about 35 million years ago during the impact of a giant meteorite on a rocky ridge and was discovered in 1946. Later it was established that the Skalnoe deposit alone contains more diamonds than all the kimberlite deposits in the world. Now these diamonds are used, among other things, as optical materials in laser systems.
Read more: http://en.tsu.ru/news/physicists-have-revealed-new-properties-of-yakutia-diamonds-/
