Re: Synthetics drive diamond revolution

[Christopher Arnold]

Jed,

 

Maybe you know someone interested in investing in my work, semi-conductive - synthetic nano diamond powder. I see the greatest value in high current diodes and diamond transistors, with gem markets left to Apollo or De Beers.

 

Chris

http://members.aol.com/hypercom59

Jed Rothwell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

Years ago I knew someone who is trying to develop palladium on diamond cold
fusion cathodes because he thought the biggest problem with cold fusion was
that the heat destroys the substrate. He thought that only a diamond could
conduct the heat away from the Palladium quickly enough. I do not know what
happened to that project but I think he had a good point. Obviously mass
production of this would call for synthetic diamonds.

The real value of synthetic diamonds will be the technology they give rise
to, such as semiconductors and the excavation machinery I described in
chapter 6 of the book. But I think they will also serve as jewelry to
everyone's satisfaction except the people at DeBeers. I find this statement
amusing:

"'[Synthetic diamonds] are chemically, physically and optically identical
to mined diamonds,' said Robe! rt Linares. '(But) we would prefer the fiancee
to know she's got an Apollo diamond.'

De Beers says synthetic production poses little threat to its market for
traditional mined gems, quoting research showing that 94 percent of women
want real -- not synthetic -- diamonds."

That is ridiculous. 99% of women in the future will not give a fig where
the diamond comes from. When the Japanese biologist K. Mikimoto developed
cultured pearls grown in oysters on farms in the late 19th century, jewelry
experts said that discriminating customers would never buy them.
Discriminating customers eventually learned that cultured pearls are larger
and of better quality than naturally occurring ones. As far as I know all
pearl jewelry today is cultured. The price of pearls has plummeted. In
1917, Pierre Cartier traded a long pearl necklace worth $2 million for a
Manhattan mansion . Today I believe a large necklace of that quality would cost ~$50,000. There was one sold in 1993 for a record $2.3 million -- just
a little more than the 1917 price.

Of course, some people -- especially rich people -- will lose interest in
diamonds when diamonds become as cheap as dirt. But millions more will buy
diamonds, and the overall value of diamond jewelry will probably increase.
The total market value of computers is much higher today than it was in
1979 when I purchased my first "personal" computer: a $30,000 Data General
Nova minicomputer.

Someday I hope that we will develop "replicator"; that is, equipment that
can make perfect copies of paintings, sculpture and other works of art.
(And of course, pearls, semiconductors and steak dinners.) I mean exact
copies down to the level of the molecule and the atom. Any person anywhere
will be free to decorate his house with a painting by Modigliani or
Rembrandt that is physically indistinguishable from the original at the
museum. When this becomes possible, people will finally appreciate art for
art's sake and not as "collectibles" or incredibly expensive objects.

The only problem with this will be that living artists will lose their
market. This has already happened to young classical musicians. Today's
recording techniques are so good that most customers are satisfied with
recordings of Beethoven or Mozart made 30 years ago, so there is no market
for new recordings, and a diminished market for live concerts.

A replicator would really reduce the crowds at major museums such as the
Louvre, but I do not think it would abolish museums. Many of them --
especially the smaller ones -- will still have value because they put
paintings in context. The Phillips Gallery in Washington DC is a prime
example. The house itself is a work of art, and it was designed the same
time the paintings in it were being made. Anyone truly interested in El
! Greco must visit the museum of his works in Toledo, Spain. Indeed, the
whole city of Toledo and the view of the city across the river has been
preserved much as he painted it, thanks to his influence.

- Jed

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