Every second, in the flame of a candle, millions of tiny diamonds are generated. A scientist at the University of Sant Andrews, in Scotland, has discovered that among the types of carbon that are generated in the combustion of candle wax there are diamond nanoparticles, unfortunately that disappear just as quickly as they originate.
Chemistry professor Wuzong Zhou has succeeded in developing a filter that allows particles to be removed from the center of a candle flame and examined. In this way he has discovered that the carbon in the candle gives rise to four allotropic forms of carbon. To the astonishment of Professor Zhou, in addition to graphite or fullerene , he has also found diamonds.
Research by this chemistry professor has revealed that about a million and a half diamond particles are generated every second in the burning of a candle . The only pity is that, at the moment, and because these diamonds disappear almost instantly, they cannot be extracted from the flame. According to Zhou himself, “unfortunately the diamond particles are burned in the process and converted into carbon dioxide, but this could change the way we see a candle flame forever.”
Further research in this line, that of preventing diamonds from disappearing, could have really interesting applications. The logical and obvious reduction in the price of the diamond would translate into a greater availability of an extremely useful material outside of its use in jewelery. Diamond is also used to make surgical scalpels, hip replacements and many other industrial and even electronic applications .
