Dwarf planet collision could have led to strange ultra-hard diamonds to Earth

Lonsdaleite, which was discovered in Canyon Diablo meteorite in 1967, was named after British crystallographer Dame Kathleen Lonsdale. New research suggests that lonsdaleite's hexagonal form makes it more difficult than regular diamonds of the same cubic structure. This could lead to new manufacturing methods for ultra-hard materials. Researchers studied lonsdaleite found in ureilite meteorites. This rare class of space rock may have material from the mantle dwarf worlds, scientists believe. To identify the lonsdaleite, the team examined slices of meteorites under the microscope. They also looked at regularly-formed diamonds found within the rock. McCulloch stated that "strong evidence" has been found that lonsdaleite formed from regular diamonds. This is similar to a supercritical chemical vapor deposition process. It occurred on the dwarf planet, McCulloch explained. "Chemical Vapor Deposition is one way people make diamonds in the laboratory, basically by growing them in a specialized chamber. Scientists believe that the meteorites' lonsdaleite was formed from supercritical liquid at elevated temperatures and increased pressures. The extreme environment allowed the graphite to keep its shape and texture. As the environment cools and pressure drops, lonsdaleite is partially replaced with diamond. The team thinks that the industry could mimic the process to produce the unusual mineral. "Nature has thus provided us with a process to try and replicate in industry," Andy Tomkins, team leader and a geologist at Monash University in Australia, said in the same statement. "We think that lonsdaleite could be used to make tiny, ultra-hard machine parts if we can develop an industrial process that promotes the replacement of pre-shaped graphite parts by lonsdaleite."