no worries about exploitation
Until De Beers starts synthesizing it.
Comment on Diamond market
jherazob@beehaw.org 20 hours agoMoissanite is a completely different substance than diamond, it’s a silicon carbide crystal, and it’s also made synthetically so no worries about exploitation mining, it’s also cheaper
Simulation6@sopuli.xyz 19 hours ago
Bronzebeard@lemm.ee 18 hours ago
Yeah what conditions are these scientists working under?
MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 20 hours ago
I’m asking about the light. The lightshow produced by a crystal is down to both the optical properties of the material, but also the geometry of how it was cut.
The image is really cool, but it only demonstrates a difference if the Moissanite was cut into the exact same shape as the diamonds.
A prism doesn’t split light becayse of the material its made of, but because of its shape.
TonyTonyChopper@mander.xyz 19 hours ago
Moissanite has a marginally higher index of refraction than diamond so the “ideal” cutting geometry would be different. This looks like a misleading demonstration intended to market something. They appear nearly identical in normal conditions
MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 17 hours ago
That’s what I was immediately thinking.
Getting pretty colors out of a clear crystal is more about how it was cut, than what it’s made of.
Unless it’s something like opal that produces lightshows through completely different optical effects.
UID_Zero@infosec.pub 19 hours ago
Isn’t it both shape and material? The refractive index of the material is important in determining how much the light bends at the interface.
MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 17 hours ago
Yes, but a clear crystal is a clear crystal.
If you want to split light you can do what regardless of refractive index (as long as it isn’t zero), you’d just need to cut different angles and/or project the light onto a surface that’s closer/farther to get the same effect using a different material.
UID_Zero@infosec.pub 13 hours ago
No, different materials have different refractive indices, even if they’re both “clear crystals.” Maybe the examples given are very close in refractive index, but they still differ, therefore split light differently. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_refractive_indices
I’m not saying it’s the entire difference, but it certainly comes into play. It could be that the more “explosive” light example is cut identically, but held slightly askew versus the others.
Point is, it’s not just the cut that impacts the result.
jherazob@beehaw.org 17 hours ago
Ah, i misunderstood, yeah, there’s got to be some rigging in that demo pic now that you mention it, however if Moissanite is essentially a drop-in replacement for diamonds in jewelry that is cheaper and looks even slightly nicer, which seems to be the case, then all should be well, doubly so if it kills the profits of De Beers. I’d ask to see the contrast IN PERSON if i was shopping for rings today though, nothing beats that.