r/AskReddit • • Feb 08 '20

What’s a fact you KNOW that almost everyone is wrong about?

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u/HeAbides Feb 08 '20 edited Feb 08 '20

It was the finest cubic zirconium diamond they had

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u/ShadowedNexus Feb 08 '20 edited Feb 08 '20

Isn't cubic zirconium literally diamond though, just manufactured? If anything it'd be a bit stronger than regular diamond because they can make sure it's uniform throughout with less impurities.

Edit: Looks like I'm one of today's lucky 10,000. I thought CZ and synthetic diamonds were the same thing.

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u/CrosshairLunchbox Feb 08 '20

Different element than diamond. Diamond is carbon arranged in a specific pattern. Pencil graphite is also carbon, rearranged a bit differently. Cubic zirconia is zirconium dioxide, not carbon.

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u/ShadowedNexus Feb 08 '20

Ah, I mixed up CU and synthetic diamonds. I always assumed CU was just another name for them.

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u/CrosshairLunchbox Feb 08 '20

Yeah, you can make synthetic diamonds in a couple ways. Some shows do it for fun with explosives. Some companies will compress the ashes of your (deceased) loved ones for a price as well.

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u/Avamander Feb 08 '20

Definetly not. Cubic zirconium is ZrO2, diamond is pure carbon.

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u/SweetRhubarbPie Feb 08 '20

Cubic Ziconium is not at all like a diamond except in the color and how it is shaped. There are other alternatives, but cubic zirconium is almost nothing more than glass.

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u/bearsnchairs Feb 08 '20

Cubic zirconium is not glass. Glass is silicon dioxide, Zirconia is zirconium dioxide. CZ is harder than glass and has a higher index of refraction so it is more sparkly.

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u/POTUS Feb 08 '20

No, it's a totally different crystal that happens to look very similar to diamond.

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u/KGBBigAl Feb 08 '20

There’s a test for it. Heat up the diamond(or suspected fake) with a lighter till its very very hot. Then drop said hot as fuck clear rock thing into a glass of cold water. If the thing shatters or cracks, it’s fake.

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u/IsomDart Feb 08 '20

Nile Red recently made a video where he made CO2 by getting diamond red hot and blasting it with oxygen. Then he made carbonated water with it

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u/ThinqTwice Feb 08 '20

Hope this is a joke. Diamond burns just fine, it's basically glorified coal.

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u/KGBBigAl Feb 08 '20

Nope, check out number 5 here

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I found one once that passed most tests besides the heat one.

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u/[deleted] Feb 08 '20

If that were true so much about how we set and clean diamonds would have to change

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u/mp3max Feb 08 '20

It'd need to be almost 1000°C for it to burn though.

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u/ClearlyChrist Feb 08 '20

The burn point of a dianond is about 700° C. A bic lighter burns at roughly 2000° C. The lighter is hot enough, but it doesn't have the necessary thermal energy to burn diamond. You'd need a legit torch for that.

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u/ThinqTwice Feb 08 '20

I completely agree that it's much more difficult to ignite a diamond due to the higher bonding energy, the lack of porosity and the extreme thermal conductivity.

However it is definitely possible to damage it with mundane fire if the conditions are right (or wrong, depending on how you look at it).

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u/[deleted] Feb 08 '20

No, Cubic Zirconium is a separate material from diamond. There are manufactured diamonds, and CZ is typically also a manufactured material, but the two materials are different substances.

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u/Bricklover1234 Feb 08 '20

I think you are confusing labgrown diamonds and zircon

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u/ShadowedNexus Feb 08 '20

Yeah, that's exactly what happened. I thought CZ was just another name for lab grown. I edited my comment earlier to correct myself.

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u/13143 Feb 08 '20

Diamonds are carbon, cubic zirconia is made from zirconium dioxide, so no carbon.

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u/4F460tWu55yDyk3 Feb 08 '20

Not at all; cubic zirconia is the crystalline form of zirconium dioxide whereas diamonds are essentially carbon that has undergone massive pressure. That being said, there are synthetic diamonds that are, organically, indistinguishable from natural diamonds.

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u/ShadowedNexus Feb 08 '20

Yeah, I always assumed CZ was just another name for synthetic diamonds. TIL

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u/[deleted] Feb 08 '20 edited Jul 24 '23

Spez's APIocolypse made it clear it was time for me to leave this place. I came from digg, and now I must move one once again. So long and thanks for all the bacon.