14 DAY TRIAL // Apparently, even the cheapest bottles of tequila can make for the creation of diamonds, Mexican scientists told BBC. A research team, working from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, said that applications for their new invention are plentiful, and that their discovery could pave the way for mass-production of diamonds.
Admittedly, the diamonds can only be seen via an electron microscope, as they do not come in the stone shape we're used to. Rather, they form microscopic layers, following a quite simple "extraction" procedure. Their most important advantage is that they can be manufactured very cheaply, from the hundreds of millions of liters of tequila that are produced in Mexico every year.
"First of all we turn the liquid tequila into vapor by using a lot of heat. The gas molecules are then broken up into tiny particles. Then we increase the heat even further – to around 800 degrees Celsius. The end result is that we get carbon atoms which are then deposited in the shape of a very thin diamond film," explained team leader, Miguel Apatica, who made the discovery.
This type of artificial diamonds is too small to be used for creating intricate jewelry, or any kind of jewelry for that matter, but the scientists who came up with the idea say that they could have countless industrial applications, such as being used to create miniaturized cutting tools, for use in surgeries. This could provide doctors with a very accurate cutting tool, which could help reduce the risk of larger scalpels reaching blood vessels or other organs, during surgery.
Also, they could be used to replace silicon in computer chip-manufacturing processes. This would drastically increase processing speeds, as diamonds are known for being able to hold enormous amounts of information and transmit the data very fast.