On the beauty of defects

Abstract

In its pure and perfect form, diamond is colorless. However, in nature or even when made in a laboratory, diamonds are never composed just of perfectly arranged carbon atoms. At the atomic level even colorless and seemingly flawless diamonds contain trace amounts of other elements such as nitrogen or hydrogen, or they may contain structural defects such as missing carbon atoms. When present in specific atomic arrangements and concentrations, most minor components of defects can cause absorption of specific wavelengths that give rise to color.

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