Science unveils the secrets of the universe, unlocking nature’s mysteries through inquiry and experimentation. From simple experiments that change the colour of a salt to ones that could blow up your house, the possibilities are endless. From using human hair for data storage or using a simple ingredient like peanut butter to make diamonds, the discoveries are spectacular. One experiment that I would certainly love to try one day is turning peanut butter into diamonds.
Natural diamonds take endless years to form. They are created with extreme heat and pressure in the earth's mantle. Deep volcanic eruptions bring them to the surface of the earth. We wait for these eruptions to come, which happens rarely, hence the high value of diamonds.
However, we may not have to do that anymore. Dan Frost, a scientist, realised that both diamonds and peanut butter share a similar base- carbon. He knew that the carbon from sunken rocks was stripped by the upper mantle of the earth, which caused the formation of diamonds. Since diamonds are allotropic forms of carbon, he used his knowledge to think of an innovative way to extract carbon from peanut butter and use it in the production of diamonds. Frost attempted to carry out his intention, the process was messy but yielded results.
Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to replicate the heat and pressure that the Earth's surface contains, so we won't be able to turn our favourite sandwich ingredients into diamonds anytime soon.
Additionally, labs already produce man-made diamonds and their process is much less messy. So is it possible that peanut butter diamonds will replace the wait time for natural diamonds or take over our jewellery boxes? Not anytime soon, but it is fun to think that one day, we won't have to spend lakhs on engagement rings anymore!
