Synthetic diamond is diamond produced in a technological process. Claims of diamond synthesis were documented between 1879 and 1928 but none have been confirmed. In the 1940s, research began in the United States, Sweden and the Soviet Union to grow diamond using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) processes. The first reproducible synthesis was in 1953. CVD and HPHT still dominate the production of synthetic diamonds, whose properties vary depending on the process used. The hardness, thermal conductivity and electron mobility of some manufactured diamonds are superior to those of natural diamonds. Synthetic diamond is used in cutting and polishing tools, abrasives and heat sinks. Electronic applications of synthetic diamond are being developed, including high-power switches at power stations, high-frequency field-effect transistors and light-emitting diodes. Both CVD and HPHT diamonds can be cut into gems and produced in various colors (pictured).
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_diamond
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1815:
After escaping from exile in Elba, Napoleon entered Paris, beginning the period known as the Hundred Days. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Days
1922:
The United States Navy commissioned its first aircraft carrier, USS Langley. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Langley_%28CV-1%29
1942:
World War II: After being forced to flee the Philippines for Australia, U.S. Army general Douglas MacArthur announced: "I came through and I shall return." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_MacArthur
2014:
Taliban militants carried out a mass shooting at the Kabul Serena Hotel in Afghanistan, killing nine civilians. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Kabul_Serena_Hotel_attack
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
felicity: 1. (uncountable) Happiness; (countable) an instance of this. 2. (uncountable) An apt and pleasing style in speech, writing, etc.; (countable) an apt and pleasing choice of words. 3. (uncountable, rare) Good luck; success; (countable) An instance of unexpected good luck; a stroke of luck; also, a lucky characteristic. 4. (uncountable, semiotics) Reproduction of a sign with fidelity. 5. (countable) Something that is either a source of happiness or particularly apt. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/felicity
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
What is happening in Ukraine is a crime. Russia is an aggressor country and the responsibility for this aggression rests on the conscience of only one person. That person is Vladimir Putin. My father is Ukrainian, my mother is Russian, and they've never been enemies. This necklace I'm wearing is a symbol of the fact that Russia must immediately end this fratricidal war and our fraternal peoples will still be able to reconcile. Unfortunately, I've spent the last few years working for Channel One, doing Kremlin propaganda, and I'm very ashamed of this. Ashamed that I allowed lies to be broadcast from TV screens. Ashamed that I allowed others to zombify Russian people. We were silent in 2014 when all this started. We didn't protest when the Kremlin poisoned Navalny. We just silently watched this inhuman regime at work. And now the whole world has turned its back on us. And the next 10 generations won't wash away the stain of this fratricidal war. We Russians are thinking and intelligent people. It's in our power alone to stop all this madness. Go protest. Don't be afraid of anything. They can't lock us all away. --Marina Ovsyannikova https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Marina_Ovsyannikova