Can Diamonds Burn? US media: Can be burned to ashes

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, September 14, new media special telegram The US media said that diamonds are eternal, or this advertising slogan is eternal. But as long as it is heated to the right temperature and oxygen is sufficient, the diamond can be burned to ashes.

According to the American fun science website reported on September 6, diamonds are composed of carbon, just like coal. But compared to coal, diamonds are in a bit of a higher condition to catch fire and burn continuously, as confirmed by the large number of demonstration videos on YouTube, diamonds do burn. The trick is to create the right conditions for a hard diamond to react with the oxygen needed to burn.

Riques Sacleben, a retired chemist and fellow of the American Chemical Society, said, "You have to convert this solid (carbon) into a gas to react with the air and burn it." ”

What's the best way? Heating – and at high temperatures. Christopher Baird, a physicist at West Texas University of Agriculture and Mechanics, says that at room temperature, diamonds have a fire point of around 900 degrees Celsius. In contrast, the flash point of highly volatile coal (which contains a relatively large amount of volatile gases) is about 667 degrees Celsius, while the flash point of wood does not exceed 300 degrees Celsius, and different types of wood vary.

When heated for the first time, the diamond glows red, followed by white light. Heating reacts the surface of the diamond with air, converting carbon into colorless, odorless carbon monoxide (a carbon atom plus an oxygen atom) gas.

Baird told the fun science website reporter: "The process of carbon and oxygen atoms combining to produce carbon monoxide will release heat; carbon monoxide will continue to exothermic when it reacts with oxygen; increased heat will release more carbon monoxide, which will combine more oxygen." ”

However, the flames are very faint. Getting a diamond to surface on fire usually requires an additional condition: 100% oxygen, not room air with only 22% oxygen. The increased oxygen concentration provides all the conditions required for the diamond to burn continuously.

According to the Gemological Institute of America, diamonds can be damaged by flames even without a pure oxygen environment. The surface of the diamond will burn until it appears white and cloudy. Cut off the burned part and you'll find a smaller but still crystal clear stone.

Theoretically, if burned long enough, a diamond made entirely of carbon would disappear completely; however, most diamonds contain at least impurities such as nitrogen, so the combustion reaction cannot be so simple.