Why is diamond transparent

It all comes down to the placement of their atoms. In diamonds, each carbon atom is bonded to 4 other carbon atoms, while in graphite, each atom is only bonded to 3 other carbon atoms. The bonds in diamonds are held in such a tight structure that all light passes around them, which is why diamonds look transparent. In coal and graphite, light gets trapped between the atoms, which is why they look dark and opaque.

Why do carbon atoms bond differently in diamonds? At very high pressures and temperatures, the carbon atoms are squeezed so much that they start touching more atoms. However, we cannot reach that far with drills or anything else.

Diamonds are actually found and collected near the surface, in special volcanoes called Kimberlites. Volcanic eruptions happen when gas trapped at that depth gets too hot and starts expanding and rising.

But it can take up to 3 billion years to create diamonds under those conditions, and kimberlite eruptions do not happen frequently. The last one was 13 million years ago. But, material scientist can grow diamonds in laboratories. The process of making diamonds begins by cutting very small pieces of a real diamond to produce tiny scraps that are call waivers.

These waivers are then placed in a metal apparatus that recreates the conditions we discussed earlier. After 2 weeks, the waivers grow into stones. The deeper colors and hues the more popular these diamonds can be although other variations such as brown diamonds champagne diamonds are also becoming popular due to being a bit better on price.

Black diamonds can be and are absolutely gorgeous. These stones are also made up of carbon just like their white diamond cousins. The difference comes in on their crystal structure. Black diamonds absorb light that falls onto them which makes their transparency non-existent.

Even created in a lab you would be hard-pressed to find a black diamond that lets too much light transfer through it. Natural black diamonds tend to appear opaque whereas lab-created black diamonds are usually some other color and through an artificial treatment are turned black.

Seeing through a diamond and its transparency are two different things. In most cases, a diamond will be transparent. To see through a diamond is a lot harder. Provided the diamond is real its internal crystal structure will refract light in different directions, not a straight line.

Although technically you cannot see through the diamond you can still see everything the diamond reflects. You can actually test to see how real a diamond is by using this knowledge.

If you take a diamond and place it on or try to read a newspaper you should not be able to read the letters or even really see them.

You will still be able to see some things but if the letters are clear or even blurry the diamond is fake. This is the best test for loose diamonds.

As we went through this article some diamonds are very transparent. Just like the human race, however, each diamond can be unique, and sometimes their flaws whether transparent or obvious can sometimes be a good thing. As you observe different diamonds what do you love? Can you spot flaws that make them less ideal in your mind, or are they crystal clear and as beautiful as the reason you are searching for one?

No matter the case keep your eyes peeled for these beautiful and sometimes transparent stones. Carl has been involved in the jewelry business since his youth. Growing up in South Africa his parents were jewelers who worked in the industry for decades. If you love to wear jewelry, then you take the time to hand-pick items that reflect your personality. Skip to content The beautiful sparkle of a diamond is hard to beat. Was this article helpful?

A typical clear diamond owes its transparency to its crystal structure, which allows light to pass through it. Chemically, diamonds are made up only of carbon, but naturally occurring stones often contain traces of other substances, which were present when the diamond was formed. Although a diamond may be transparent, it can still look less clean if it has too many natural flaws within it. Diamond clarity as a quality characteristic refers to how many natural flaws are within a stone or on its surface, how big they are, and how prominent their placement is.

Hence, diamonds with more, bigger, and more visible flaws will have lower clarity than stones with tiny, barely visible defects. It is important to note that clarity does not affect significantly the overall transparency of a diamond. Diamond color refers to the visible tint of a stone, and the hue of a white diamond does not directly affect its clarity. For example, strong yellowish tints in a white diamond can make the stone seem somewhat dull, thereby making its flaws more noticeable and reinforcing the impression that the diamond is not very clean.

The yellowish tints in white diamonds do not significantly affect their clarity, but naturally colored diamonds fancy color diamonds can look less clear depending on the cause of their color.

Although color and clarity are two separate diamond characteristics, when a stone has a strong color that is a result of chemical impurities, they can affect how transparent and clear the diamond looks.