In the 1920's it was quite widely believed that diamond had been made from oarbon tinder conditions of high heat and great pressure. The story was indeed one to capture the imagination. It involved famous chemists, a thoroughly fascinating subject and very striking experimental techniques. In the recent past, however, informed scientists soberly agree that there has been no certain example of diamond production in the laboratory. More than a century of claims and counterclaims for the synthesis of diamond attest to the fascination of the subject and the extreme difficulty of the experimental techniques. Henri Moissan dissolved sugar charcoal in molten iron and quenched the solution in cold water in order to crystallize the carbon under the great internal pressure supposedly generated by contraction as the mass cooled from the outside. When the metal was dissolved from the solidified melt, there remained traces of transparent material having optical properties similar to those of diamond and giving some carbon dioxide upon combustion. Moissan therefore believed he had made diamond.
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