Russian scientists are claiming that a gigantic deposit of industrial diamonds found in a huge Siberian meteorite crater. |
Russian scientists are claiming that a gigantic deposit of industrial diamonds found in a huge Siberian meteorite crater during Soviet times could revolutionize industry. The Siberian branch of Russian Academy of Sciences said that the Popigai crater in eastern Siberia contains "many trillions of carats" of so-called "impact diamonds" -- good for technological purposes, not for jewelry, and far exceeding the currently known global deposits of conventional diamonds. Nikolai Pokhilenko, the head of the Geological and Mineralogical Institute in Novosibirsk, told the reporters Monday that the diamonds include other molecular forms of carbon. He said they could be twice as hard as conventional diamonds and therefore have superlative industrial qualities. He said the minerals could lead to a "revolution" in various industries. "But they can't upset a diamond market because it is shaped by diamonds for jewelry purposes." The deposit was discovered by Soviet scientists in the 1970s, but was left unexplored as the Soviet leadership opted for producing synthetic diamonds for industrial use. The deposit remained classified until after the Soviet collapse. Pokhilenko said that the diamonds owe their unparalleled hardness to enormous pressure and high temperatures at the moment of explosion when a giant meteorite hit 35 million years ago, leaving a 60-mile crater. The Siberian branch of Russian Academy of Sciences said in a statement that scientists discussed the issue at a roundtable in Novosibirsk over the weekend, saying that further studies will be needed to assess economic aspects of their potential exploration. Pokhilenko said his institute is planning to send an expedition to the crater in cooperation with Russia's state-controlled diamond mining company Alrosa. (Read by Brian Salter. Brian Salter is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
俄羅斯科學(xué)家表示,前蘇聯(lián)政府曾在西伯利亞地區(qū)一個(gè)巨大的隕石坑內(nèi),發(fā)現(xiàn)大型工業(yè)用鉆石礦,而這一發(fā)現(xiàn)有可能引發(fā)工業(yè)變革。 俄羅斯科學(xué)院西伯利亞分院表示,西伯利亞?wèn)|部的珀匹蓋隕石坑內(nèi)有“數(shù)萬(wàn)億克拉”的“沖擊鉆”,是良好的工業(yè)鉆石,而不是用來(lái)打造珠寶。這一儲(chǔ)量比目前已知的全世界鉆石礦儲(chǔ)量的總和還超出很多。 新西伯利亞市地質(zhì)與礦物研究院院長(zhǎng)尼古萊-波克希倫科本周一告訴記者,這種鉆石含有其他分子形式的碳,硬度是普通鉆石的兩倍,因此具有最高級(jí)的工業(yè)品質(zhì)。 他說(shuō),這一礦藏會(huì)導(dǎo)致多個(gè)工業(yè)領(lǐng)域出現(xiàn)“革命”,“但不會(huì)擾亂鉆石市場(chǎng),因?yàn)檫@一市場(chǎng)是由珠寶鉆石主導(dǎo)的?!?/p> 這一礦藏是前蘇聯(lián)科學(xué)家在上世紀(jì)70年代發(fā)現(xiàn)的,但前蘇聯(lián)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人選擇制造人造鉆石用于工業(yè)用途,而沒(méi)有對(duì)礦藏進(jìn)行勘探。直到前蘇聯(lián)解體,這一礦藏也不為人所知。 波克希倫科說(shuō),3500萬(wàn)年前,一顆巨大的隕石砸向此處,導(dǎo)致發(fā)生大爆炸,也留下了一個(gè)60英里的隕石坑。因此鉆石在爆炸時(shí)巨大的壓力和超高溫的作用下變得無(wú)比堅(jiān)硬。 俄羅斯科學(xué)院西伯利亞分院在聲明中說(shuō),科學(xué)家上周末在新西伯利亞召開(kāi)的一次圓桌會(huì)議上討論了這一礦藏,表示若要評(píng)估未來(lái)勘探工作的經(jīng)濟(jì)效益,還需要進(jìn)一步研究。 波克希倫科說(shuō),研究院計(jì)劃向該隕石坑派遣一支勘探隊(duì),與俄羅斯國(guó)有鉆石公司阿爾羅薩共同開(kāi)發(fā)。 相關(guān)閱讀 外媒稱(chēng)普京與美女間諜有染 夫人被“關(guān)”修道院 美俄總統(tǒng)私聊曝光 “轉(zhuǎn)達(dá)給普京”網(wǎng)絡(luò)走紅 (中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)英語(yǔ)點(diǎn)津 Julie 編輯:陳丹妮) |
Vocabulary: meteorite crater: 隕石坑 synthetic diamond: 人造鉆石 |