Video Transcript:
Theres obviously a quadrillion lots of diamonds 100 miles below Earths surface. Weve never been that far down, so how do we understand there are diamonds there?
We should really start by asking how do we understand whats numerous miles listed below earths surface in the very first location?
We mostly know since of seismic waves, which are brought on by the movement or vibration of the ground in reaction to forces that are put on it, say by an earthquake or a nuclear explosion. When I do this, its like how jello in a bowl responds.
There are 3 major kinds of seismic waves, main waves, secondary waves, and surface waves. P and S waves travel through the earth and the speed and direction that they relocate tells us a lot about the various products that are hundreds or thousands of miles underneath us.
P waves travel the fastest, about four miles per second. So theyre chosen up by seismometers initially. P waves move like an inch worm does, squeezing and broadening as they travel. And they move faster through denser, rigid product like rock and metal, but they decrease in liquid.
Researchers recognized that when P-waves were reaching a specific depth they were decreasing and then were a little deflected as they made their way to the opposite of our world, creating whats called a “P-wave shadow zone”– a location on the side of the Earth opposite the earthquake, where no P-waves might reach.
Later on, geophysicist Inge Lehmann hypothesized that there was a liquid zone sandwiched between two rocky layers, which we now call Earths mantle and inner core. The liquid layer is Earths outer core.
They were about half as quick as P waves and they move in an up and down or side to side movement, altering in shape, depending on the product they move through. Simply like P waves, S waves move through different solids at various speeds.
Unlike P waves, they cant move through liquid. They disappear at the mantle core boundary and they dont reveal up in this shadow zone once again, suggesting a liquid layer listed below a strong one.
What does this have to do with diamonds? Well, scientists understood that about a hundred miles below Earths continents in the upper mantle, seismic waves gain ground. Remember seismic waves move fastest through denser, more stiff product, however the researchers didnt understand what that product might be.
Past seismic wave studies, and a couple other findings revealed that Earths upper mantle was mostly made from a rock called peridotite, but even the most stiff peridotite wouldnt trigger seismic waves to accelerate. Even the most stiff peridotites would not cause seismic waves to speed up as much as the scientists were seeing. There had to be something else in there too.
So the researchers evaluated a lot of different rock and mineral combinationsto see if any of them could make seismic waves accelerate that much. And the one product they found would do it was diamonds, not simply a couple of diamonds abouta quadrillion lots of diamonds embedded in extremely rigid rocks like eclogites.
What is it about diamonds that makes them rigid enough for seismic waves to visibly speed up?
Diamonds are structured arrangements of carbon atoms where each carbon atom is covalently bonded to 4 other carbon atoms. This is what makes them among the hardest toughest substances on earth.
I imply, diamond is utilized to drill through stone, ceramic and bone, and just diamond can be utilized to polish diamond.
Diamonds form when carbon atoms are put under intense heat and pressure, and Earths mantle has temperatures over a thousand degrees Celsius and pressures around 50,000 times that in the world surface area.
So finding diamonds there wasnt a shock, but a quadrillion heaps worth certainly was. Thats an entire lot of shimmer.
How sure are we that much bling is beneath our feet?
The quadrillion heaps of diamonds hypothesis is mainly based upon seismic information. So some diamond and geochemistry scientists are still doubtful.
One factor is that throughout volcanic eruptions, when rock from the mantle is raised to the surface area by magma researchers frequently only find truly percentages of diamond compared to the quantity of rock. Im talking less than 0.01%.
And other work has revealed that the quantity of carbon and eclogites those incredibly rigid rocks that I mentioned earlier can actually differ from around 0.0003% to around 14% with a lot of having less than 1% diamond.
And you d need around 3% diamond to get that quadrillion lots.
Theres undoubtedly a lot more work to be done, but thats how science is by researching, we keep discovering more.
P waves take a trip the fastest, about four miles per second. Just like P waves, S waves move through various solids at different speeds. What does this have to do with diamonds? Well, scientists understood that about a hundred miles underneath Earths continents in the upper mantle, seismic waves pick up speed. Previous seismic wave studies, and a couple other findings showed that Earths upper mantle was mainly made of a rock called peridotite, but even the most stiff peridotite would not cause seismic waves to speed up.
There might be a quadrillion loads of diamonds 100 miles below Earths surface area. But the farthest weve traveled is 7 miles down, so how could we know that?