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The Hardest Substance
In the United States, diamonds are often used in jewelry to symbolize marriage and love. But diamonds mean a lot of things to people all over the world. In other countries, diamonds are connected with healing, magic, protection and wealth. Did you know diamonds are actually made of pure carbon? Carbon is a substance found in nearly everything on earth, including rocks, trees and people. We all need carbon to survive. Diamonds are formed deep beneath the earth from the carbon of organisms that lived many years before us. Volcanic eruptions pushed the matter to the earth’s surface where diamonds are mined today. Diamonds take a very long time to form. Scientists tell us the diamonds we see today are probably billions of years old! Although diamonds come in a variety of shapes, most are colorless. The mineral is clear, like a crystal. It’s rare, but occasionally a blue or yellow diamond will be found. Colored diamonds are very expensive. Eighty percent of the diamonds in the world today are not used in jewelry. Since it is the hardest substance in the world, most diamonds are used to cut and grind other substances. For example, diamonds are used to shape concrete, stone, eyeglasses and computer chips, among other things. Diamonds are mined in 25 countries, including India, Brazil, Africa, Russia and Australia. Diamonds can be found on every continent except Europe and Antarctica. The first diamond was believed to have been found between three and four thousand years ago in India. It takes a lot of work to find a diamond in the earth. It is usually surrounded by tons of rock, which has to be chipped away from the diamond. Then the diamond must be cleaned and polished before it can be sold. As a result, many of the diamonds used in the world today are manufactured or man-made.
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