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Show THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE. Mr. James Maclear, of the St. Rollox Chemical Works, has informed the Glasgow Philosophical Society that, after experiments since 1866, he has succeeded in obtaining crystallized forms of carbon which Professor Tyndall and Smyth, and Mr. Maskelyne, of the British Museum, do not doubt are diamonds. In 1829 two famous experiments were made nearly at the same time by MM. [messieurs] Cagniard de Latour and Gannal, both distinguished in French science. M. de Latour presented his results to the Academy of Sciences, October 10, 1828, and those of M. Gannal were presented November 23, in the same year. Cagniard de Latour sent to the Academy ten tubes containing a number of light brown crystals, some of which were of considerable dimensions. They were brilliant, transparent and harder than quartz. Submitted to intense heat in contact with the air, the crystals experienced not the slightest change, a proof sufficient in itself that they were not of the nature of the diamond. Besides, notwithstanding their unusual hardness, they were easily scratched by the latter gem. The Academical suvans concluded that they were merely silicates or artificial precious stones. The experiments of M. Gannal gained more renown. Specimens of his productions were sent to M. Champigny, director of the workrooms of the jeweller [jeweler] Petitot, who examined them with care; and, having satisfied himself that they scratched steel and could be scratched by no metal, that they were of pure water and displayed a brilliant luster, concluded that these little bodies were nothing else but diamonds. This declaration, coming from a man well versed in the special trade, created a panic in the diamond business; for it is well known that any sudden rise or fall in the value of precious stones would be attended by consequences only second in importance to sudden variations in the value of gold. During the French Revolution the price of diamonds was doubled in a few months. The immense capital which in this form now lies dormant in royal treasuries or in private hands is little suspected by people outside the trade. At the time of M. Gannal's experiments the nature of the diamond was still imperfectly understood. The first important fact about it was established as late as the middle of the seventeenth century by Boyle, who showed that under the influence of a great heat the diamond disappeared. In 1691 Cosmo III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, subjected a diamond at Florence to the intense heat of the sun's rays by means of a concave mirror. The diamond first split, then emitted sparks, then disappeared. A hundred years later a French lapidary named Maillard affirmed that fire had no effect upon the diamond. He took the bowl of a tobacco pipe, placed three diamonds inside in the midst of charcoal powder closely packed, closed the mouth of the pipe with a cover of iron, and then shut up the whole in a crucible filled with chalk and covered a siliceous coating. The crucible was now subjected to a temperature such that at the end of four hours it was completely soft. Then the fire was slackened. As soon as the crucible cooled it was broken open, the pipe bowl was found entire, with the charcoal in it as black as at first, and in the midst of this were the three diamonds, in every respect unaltered and uninjured. The precious stone had always disappeared when heated in the presence of air. It had undergone no modification when removed from the action of the air by means of powdered charcoal and lime. Upon this Sir Humphrey Davy in England and Lavoisier in France, speedily solved the problem. What is the diamond? asks Babinet?. The most precious thing in the whole world. And what is carbon? The most common material that is known. Yet the diamond and carbon are identical. Diamond is crystallized carbon. All doubts upon this question were dispelled by the publication in 1811, of the work of MM. Dumas and Stass. M. Gannal's crystals having been shown to be worthless, the slumbers of jewel owners were again disturbed by the experiments of M. Despretz. This patient and persevering chemist fixed a cylinder of pure carbon to the positive pole of a weak Daniell pile, and a platina wire to the other pole; he then plunged both poles into slightly acidulated water. After two months, the negative wire or pole became covered with a black coating. The product of the experiment was sent to M. Gandin to test upon hard stones. He proved, in the presence of M. Despretz and others, that, mixed with a little oil, the substance which had enveloped the platina wire sufficed to polish several rubies. As it is known that the diamond is the only substance that polishes the ruby, M. Gaudin did not hesitate to consider the substance as the powder of the diamond. This conclusion was generally accepted by men of science. The question still remains, says M. Dienlafait?, is there any reasonable probability that the diamond will yet be produced artificially? This question we must answer in the affirmative. When it is considered how perfectly substances much more complex in composition and complicated in crystal line constitution have been artificially produced; when it is considered, too, what definite results were furnished by the experiments of M. [monsieur?] Despretz for in such a case the size of the crystals is a matter of indifference there seems to be no reason for serious doubts of the possibility of the artificial reproduction of the diamond. Undoubtedly it will be a discovery from which diamond merchants and owners of diamonds will have much to suffer; but in this, as in other cases, the loss that will fall upon a small section of the community will be outweighed a thousand times by the advantages which arts and industry in general will derive from the discovery. N. Y. [New York] Herald. |