On September 4, 1886, a meteorite was found in the village of Urey in the Republic of Mordovia (Russia), which was later named ureilite after the village. Ureilite is a rare meteorite, accounting for only 0.6% of all recorded meteorites that have fallen to Earth. Ureilite is not only rare but also special because it is 4.6 billion years old, the same age as the Sun.
The meteorite has always been kept in the museum. After a period of research, experts from the Institute of Crystallography and the Institute of Plasma Science and Technology announced that they had found a significant amount of diamonds in a piece of Ureilite. The hexagonal diamonds found in the meteorite were later named lonsdaleite. This diamond was mainly encased in the graphite layer contained in the meteorite.
A slice of a meteorite containing a super diamond. (Photo: Science Alert)
Scientists support the theory that the diamonds found were created when the piece of the planet crashed into Earth. They believe that when a meteorite hits Earth, the heat and pressure of the impact can also transform the graphite components in the rock into diamonds.
Like graphite, charcoal, and diamond, lonsdaleite is a special form of carbon. It has a structure of carbon atoms with four electrons tightly bound together, making the entire structure strong enough to create one of the hardest crystals on Earth.
The crystal structure of lonsdaleite also perfectly preserves the hexagonal shape of graphite, increasing the hardness of the material and making it "superior" to diamonds on Earth.
Quoc Thai (Source: Science Alert)
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