Lab Grown Diamonds

Context: During her Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the government’s move to focus on lab-grown diamonds.

About Lab Grown Diamonds (LDG):

• Lab grown diamonds are diamonds that are produced using specific technology which mimics the geological processes that grow natural diamonds.
• They are not the same as diamond simulants.
• LDGs are chemically, physically and optically diamond and thus are difficult to identify as lab grown.

• While materials such as Moissanite, Cubic Zirconia (CZ), White Sapphire, YAG, are diamond simulants that simply attempt to look like a diamond, they lack the sparkle and durability of a diamond and are thus easily identifiable.
• However, differentiating between an LDG and an Earth Mined Diamond is hard, with advanced equipment required for the purpose.

Uses of LGDs:

• LDGs are most often used for industrial purposes, in machines and tools.
• Their hardness and extra strength make them ideal for use as cutters.
• Pure synthetic diamonds have high thermal conductivity, but negligible electrical conductivity.
  • This combination is invaluable for electronics where such diamonds can be used as a heat spreader for high-power laser diodes, laser arrays and high-power transistors.
• As the Earth’s reserves of natural diamonds are depleted, LDGs are slowly replacing the prized gemstone in the jewellery industry.

Source:  Indian Express

Previous Year Questions

Q.1) Which one of the following is the context in which the term “qubit” is mentioned? (2022)

1. Cloud Services
2. Quantum Computing
3. Visible Light Communication Technologies
4. Wireless Communication Technologies

Q.2) Consider the following statements:

1. Biofilms can form on medical implants within human tissues.
2. Biofilms can form on food and food processing surfaces.
3. Biofilms can exhibit antibiotic resistance.

Which of the statements given above are correct? (2022)

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3