The earth is a very resource-rich planet, with a large number of resource reserves, and it is precisely on these resource reserves that human beings can make the development of science and technology so fast. Among these resources, one resource is not only expensive, but also very popular. It is a diamond.
For diamonds, I believe my friends like them very much, especially for girls, which are more attractive than gold. One reason why diamonds are loved by people is that they are relatively rare and very expensive, and the other reason is that they have a unique style and can bring us a beautiful experience.
What is a diamond?
The definition of diamond is very simple. It is a polished diamond. Diamond is a natural mineral and the rough diamond. Simply put, diamond is a simple crystal composed of carbon that is formed under high pressure and high temperature conditions in the deep parts of the earth. Diamonds are beautiful and rare. They are a symbol of love and loyalty, and represent eternal love.
Yes, the reason for the formation of diamonds is carbon, and carbon is a relatively common element on the earth, and there is nothing unusual about it. But diamonds formed from such common carbon elements are so expensive. A diamond weighing about 16 grams can be sold for a price of hundreds of millions of yuan. I have to say how attractive it is.
Diamonds are very rare on the earth, so they are extremely expensive. So in the vast universe, diamonds are also very rare resources? The answer is yes, not only diamond resources, but gold is also very rare in the universe. Why?
I believe many friends know that the most abundant elements in the universe are hydrogen and helium, which account for about 99% of the entire universe, and the other elements are basically converted from hydrogen by stars. Regardless of whether it is carbon or various metal elements, the content in the universe is very small, but why does the earth have so many carbon elements and various metal elements?
In fact, it is mainly related to the predecessor of the solar system. According to the research of scientists, the position of the solar system has been two generations of stars before the sun appeared. The death of stars caused supernova explosions and released a large amount of other than hydrogen and helium. substance. These substances participated in the formation of the later solar system, so the entire solar system is a treasure house of resources, not only the earth has abundant resources, but also other planets.
Even if the earth is rich in carbon, it is not easy to form diamonds. It needs to meet the conditions of high temperature and high pressure, and this condition is only available in the interior of the earth. Therefore, the diamonds that can be formed on the surface of the earth are very rare, and the price is so expensive.
Since carbon is very rare in the universe, are there any wonders like the diamond planet? The answer is yes. The universe is so big that there are no wonders. From the perspective of the vast universe, even if carbon and metal elements are very rare, the reserves will exceed our imagination.
According to the observations of scientists, there is an inconspicuous white dwarf star in the Sagittarius constellation 50 light-years away from the earth. It may be a diamond planet. We all know that when a star like the sun reaches the end of its life, its gravity cannot make it a neutron star or a black hole, but can only evolve into a white dwarf star.
And this white dwarf star coded as BPM37093, its predecessor is also a star with similar mass to the sun. When this star fills up the star phase, nuclear fusion continues to occur in the inner core. Elements such as hydrogen and helium may form carbon during the fusion process, and carbon can turn crystals into diamonds under high temperature and pressure.
So every white dwarf has the potential to become a diamond planet, and BPM37093, a white dwarf star, is quite special. Through preliminary observations and studies, it has been found that its composition is actually very close to the composition of diamonds, which means that it may be a diamond planet. . If this is the case, then the reserves of diamonds on this planet can reach 227 billion billion tons.
Such a huge diamond planet, I believe everyone will be jealous and want to take it for himself. There was once an American man who not only publicly stated that he had the ownership of the planet, but also formally handed it to the United Nations in 2008. A formal legal statement.
Let’s not say whether this legal statement will be approved. Even if it is approved, this diamond planet becomes the man’s private property, so can he become the richest person in the world based on this? I’m afraid it is impossible. The largest diamond planet can only be valued if it is transported back to the earth. Are we capable of transporting this huge diamond back 50 light-years away?
You must know that with the current technological strength of mankind, it would take at least tens of thousands of years to travel to Proxima Centauri, 4.2 light-years away from the earth, not to mention traveling 50 light-years away, which is simply impossible to achieve. dream. Of course, human technology is constantly improving. If the ability to fly at sub-light speeds is available in the future, it can still be done 50 light-years away.
But even if it achieves the ability to fly at sub-light speeds, this diamond planet may not be able to make a person a rich man. The reason is simple, the freight is too expensive. In the 1970s, the United States manned the moon and brought back 382 kilograms of soil and rocks from the moon, costing a total of about 25.5 billion U.S. dollars.
This shows how expensive it is to mine resources from space. Even if we have the initial interstellar navigation capabilities, we can go 50 light-years away to mine the diamond planet and bring the mined diamonds back to the earth, but mining and The cost of transportation may be much higher than the value of the diamond itself, and it will be a loss-making business.
Therefore, even if we own the diamond planet, it is difficult to really mine. It will not make us rich, but will make us negative. In addition, the earth’s diamond resources are actually not rare. There are also a large number of diamonds and gold in the earth.
Scientists of the former Soviet Union dug a deep hole with a depth of 12,262 meters, called “Kola Ultra-Deep Drilling”. Through this deep hole, scientists discovered that there is a layer of gold at a depth of 7000 meters and a large amount of gold reserves. Depth, there are a lot of diamonds. Only with the current technological strength of mankind, the mining cost is very high, so it cannot be carried out.
However, with the advancement of human science and technology, it is believed that mining tens of thousands of meters underground can also be achieved. At that time, diamonds may not be so expensive, and even become very cheap. It should be understood that diamonds are not of much value for the application of human industry compared to gold, and they are more of people’s ornaments.
Of course, if human civilization wants to keep advancing fast, and science and technology want to maintain rapid development, then resources are indispensable, and the resources on the earth are very limited, and they may be exhausted in a few years. The resources of the universe are relatively infinite, and there are a wealth of various resources, whether it is a golden planet or a diamond planet, there are also many in the universe, but the requirements for technology are very high for mining.
Only when human science and technology develop to a higher stage and become an interstellar civilization can we truly explore mineral resources in space, and this road is extremely long for humans.