By Will Ferguson,College of Arts and SciencesPULLMAN, Wash. – A modern study by Washington State University researchers answers longstanding questions about the formation of a scarce type of diamond during major meteorite strikes.
Hexagonal diamond or lonsdaleite is harder than the type of diamond worn on an engagement ring and is thought to be naturally made when large, and graphite-bearing meteorites slam into Earth.
Scientists have puzzled over the exact pressure and other conditions needed to perform hexagonal diamond since its discovery in an Arizona meteorite fragment half a century ago.
Now,a team of WSU researchers has for the first time observed and ... » More ...
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Source: wsu.edu