Diamonds are some of the most valuable precious metals in the world. It has various applications and new ones are coming up almost daily. Tech is one of the industries where the diamond has been impactful. It has various applications that will shape the future of the tech industry.
We all use technology, whether as enthusiasts or just casual users. Thus, it will help to know how it will impact technology in the future. This article will take an in-depth look at this to help you prepare to embrace its future applications.
Let’s get started with everything you should know about diamonds in technology.
Why Make Technology Devices Out of Diamonds?
Most people don’t know that diamonds can be a raw material for the tech field. So, you aren’t alone if you heard it here for the first time. Everyone knows about diamond jewelry and how diamonds get converted to rings, necklaces, earrings, and many others.
We have grown accustomed to diamonds being a bold fashion statement. It’s worn by rich people and has become a symbol of luxury and wealth. But acquiring these diamonds tends to have a steep price on the environment and the ecology of where it was mined from.
This is why lab grown diamonds are starting to grow in popularity. These diamonds are more eco-friendly and are easier to produce.
They are created the same way mined diamonds are created. Carbon is subjected to high temperatures and high pressure to create the diamond. But unlike in mined diamonds where everything happens in the Earth’s core, these conditions are replicated in a controlled environment.
Mined diamonds take billions of years to grow. In comparison, lab grown diamonds only takes less than a month to grow. For example, yellow and blue diamonds take around 5 – 10 days. White diamonds take around more than 2 weeks to grow 1 carat.
Overall, lab-grown diamonds are cheaper to manufacture and more environmentally friendly to produce than mined diamonds. They’re also significantly easier and faster to produce. This makes diamonds an available commodity to other industries like technology and it’s not limited to only fashion.
But then if it’s usually used for fashion, why are diamonds a good raw material for the tech manufacturing industry?
Silicon has been the primary raw material for technology firms. Components of tech tools such as processor chips require semiconductors. Silicon was the semiconductor used to make these parts for decades. However, it has disadvantages like short lifespans and poor performance.
This made it critical for manufacturers to come up with more sustainable solutions. The big secret they unveiled was that diamonds could deliver better results. It is more robust, would last longer than silicon, and would work better on modern devices like smartphones and computers.
This informed the big move from silicon to diamond which is almost every jeweler’s favorite precious stone. But this move was informed by several other benefits of diamonds in technology tools. We’ll look at why diamonds are most preferred for the manufacture of electronic devices.
The primary reasons diamonds are becoming popular in electronics manufacturing include:
- Hardness – One of the properties of diamond is that it is hard. In fact, it is the hardest mineral on earth. As we said previously, silicon isn’t as hard as diamonds. It means diamonds can help increase the lifespan of the devices they help manufacture.
- Conductivity – This is another property that makes diamonds a critical element for the technology industry. It has better heat transfer and retention abilities, making it ideal for device manufacture. This helps in preventing energy loss to ensure the devices work efficiently.
- Endless applications – You can do much with diamonds when making devices. One of them is helping cool devices. A smartphone made from silicon heats quickly and becomes difficult to hold on to when using devices. Diamond doesn’t get heated up as such, and this also helps boost its longevity.
- Lower costs – Another incredible benefit of using diamonds in technology tools is their lower costs. Devices made from silicon are a little more expensive than those made using diamond. This is one of the reasons why diamonds are becoming popular in the technology world.
Those are some of the reasons why the technology industry relies on diamonds. There’s no doubt that diamonds provide great benefits that are changing the future of technology. You can expect to see it adopted more for manufacturing the primary components of devices.
Growing Diamonds Large Enough to Use in Electronics
Minerals and precious gemstones on Earth are limited and it takes a while for the Earth to form more. Since we’ve been mining them for years, their numbers are starting to dwindle. This means that there might not be enough diamonds for manufacturing electronic devices. Thankfully stakeholders in this industry have come up with solutions for this.
One of the most viable options has been creating diamonds in the lab. Lab-grown diamonds provide an excellent solution for the potentially diminishing supply of diamonds. Creating diamonds in the lab makes it easy to ensure there’s enough diamond for device manufacture.
The good news is that there’s no difference between natural and lab-created diamonds. It is worth noting that manufacturers create lab diamonds that are chemically, structurally, and visually identical to natural diamonds.
This makes it possible for lab-created diamonds to serve the same purpose as natural ones. It makes it easier for manufacturers to use these diamonds for the same purposes as those of natural diamonds. This includes creating jewelry and making electronic parts for devices.
Thus, you can never go wrong with lab-grown diamonds. They offer similar benefits to natural ones and can help you get the desired results. If you are looking for an alternative to natural diamonds, then lab-created diamonds will be worth buying; you should consider investing in them.
Diamonds Will Play an Integral Role in Tech Development
There’s no doubt that diamonds are the crown jewels of future technology. They play an integral role in the manufacture of different technology tools. For instance, smartphones and other devices that require semi-conductors to manufacture use diamond as a raw material.
This article has looked into why diamonds matter in the tech world. Although most precious gems are depleted in mines, lab-grown diamonds are helping bridge the gap. They are now helping keep the supply of the semi-conductors needed to manufacture tech tools constant.