Summary & Transcript
Downtown Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii… JOHN DAVID CHARTER has a patent on a unique water- Diamond Water. Actual diamonds are transformed to a gaseous state and infused into water
Summary
The video explores the fascinating properties of diamond as a pure form of carbon, highlighting its unique crystal structure and extraordinary hardness. The presenter explains the paradox of carbon existing in vastly different forms—from soft, black carbon soot to the hardest material on Earth, the diamond. The video then transitions into a live scientific demonstration where liquid oxygen is produced by cooling oxygen gas with liquid nitrogen, enabling the presenter to ignite and burn diamonds—an event rarely witnessed because diamonds are typically not burned. The burning diamond produces carbon dioxide gas, which is bubbled through water to create “diamond water,” a novel concept symbolizing transformation and the release of carbon atoms from a crystalline lattice to independent molecules. The presenter discusses the significance of this transformation, the symbolism of carbon’s lifecycle, and the scientific and cultural implications of manipulating these fundamental elements. The video also provides insights into the chemistry of combustion, phase changes of gases and solids, and the crystal structure of diamonds, concluding with cautions about the hazards of replicating the experiment at home.
Highlights
- [00:00] Introduction to diamond’s tetrahedral crystal structure and its status as the hardest natural material.
- [03:17] Demonstration of creating liquid oxygen using liquid nitrogen cooling.
- [13:23] Burning diamonds in liquid oxygen to observe their combustion and transformation into carbon dioxide.
- [15:07] Explanation of carbon dioxide dissolving in water forming carbonic acid, analogous to carbonation in beverages.
- [21:22] ❄️ Observation of solid CO2 (dry ice) forming during the combustion process in liquid oxygen.
- [24:55] Description of diamond’s natural octahedral crystal form and its permanence over millions of years.
- [31:11] ⚠️ Safety warning advising viewers not to attempt burning diamonds at home due to risks of explosion and extreme cold.
Key Insights
- [00:00] Diamond’s unique crystal lattice explains its hardness: Diamond’s tetrahedral arrangement of carbon atoms creates the most compact and strongest structure possible, giving it unparalleled hardness. This molecular geometry is crucial in understanding why diamond outperforms all other natural materials in hardness.
- [01:13] Carbon’s versatility as an element: Carbon can exist as soft, black soot or as a brilliant diamond, demonstrating the profound impact atomic bonding and structure have on material properties. This duality is a vivid example of allotropy, where the same element exhibits diverse physical characteristics depending on atomic arrangement.
- [03:17] ❄️ Producing liquid oxygen requires cooling oxygen gas below its boiling point: Using liquid nitrogen at -186°C to cool oxygen gas condenses it into liquid oxygen. This procedure showcases fundamental thermodynamics and phase transitions, highlighting the interplay between temperature, pressure, and state of matter.
- [13:23] Burning diamond produces pure carbon dioxide gas: When ignited in liquid oxygen, diamonds combust completely, converting solid carbon into CO2 gas. This reaction illustrates combustion chemistry and the transformation of a solid crystalline lattice into gaseous molecules, an irreversible chemical transformation under ordinary conditions.
- [15:07] Carbon dioxide reacts with water to form carbonic acid: The experiment bubbles CO2 from burning diamond into water, producing carbonic acid, the same chemical responsible for the fizz in carbonated drinks. This step links the combustion product to everyday chemistry, making the scientific process relatable and demonstrating acid-base equilibria in aqueous solutions.
- [21:22] ❄️ Formation of dry ice (solid CO2) during the combustion in liquid oxygen: The video reveals dry ice forming because liquid oxygen is colder than the sublimation temperature of CO2 (-78.5°C). This observation teaches about sublimation, phase changes, and the unique behavior of carbon dioxide in cryogenic environments.
- [24:55] Diamond’s octahedral natural crystal form is a geometric marvel: The diamond’s natural shape is an octahedron, reflecting the symmetry and bonding constraints of its carbon atoms. This form has remained unaltered over millions of years, underscoring the stability and permanence of diamond crystals in nature.
- [26:17] Synthetic diamond production is the reverse process of diamond combustion: Although burning diamonds destroys their crystal lattice, the carbon atoms liberated can be recrystallized under high temperature and pressure in industrial diamond presses, showing the cyclical nature of carbon transformation and the human ability to mimic geological processes.
- [28:14] Inspiration from simple scientific curiosity leads to novel discoveries: The idea to burn diamonds and create “diamond water” came from a brief thought linking diamond combustion, carbon dioxide, and carbonation. This underscores the power of simple curiosity and cross-disciplinary thinking in scientific innovation.
- [31:11] ⚠️ Safety considerations are paramount in experimental chemistry: The presenter stresses the risks involved with burning diamonds and handling cryogenic liquids, emphasizing the importance of professional supervision and proper equipment to avoid injury or accidents.
This detailed exploration combines chemistry, physics, and geology with practical demonstration and philosophical reflection, providing a comprehensive understanding of diamond’s unique nature and the elemental transformations involved in burning it.
Summary
Summary
The video presents a fascinating exploration of diamonds, focusing on their unique physical properties, chemical behavior, and symbolic significance. It begins by describing the diamond’s tetrahedral crystal structure, which makes it the hardest natural material due to its compact atomic arrangement of carbon atoms. Carbon is emphasized as the most abundant element on Earth and in living beings, existing in vastly different forms—from soft, opaque carbon like lamp black to sparkling, hard diamonds.
The presenter highlights the spectrum of carbon’s utility, from industrial uses of low-quality diamonds to luxury symbols of love in gem-quality stones. An intriguing experiment is introduced: burning diamonds in liquid oxygen, an event rarely witnessed due to the difficulty of obtaining and handling liquid oxygen and the precious nature of diamonds. Liquid oxygen is explained as a non-flammable but powerful oxidizer that fuels combustion.
The video demonstrates the process of creating liquid oxygen by cooling gaseous oxygen using liquid nitrogen and shows the transformation of oxygen gas into liquid oxygen via condensation. This liquid oxygen is then used to burn small diamonds, producing carbon dioxide gas, which bubbles through water, forming carbonic acid. The presenter poetically describes the diamond’s transformation during burning as releasing carbon atoms from their rigid lattice, turning them into individual reactive atoms. The burning diamonds completely vaporize, leaving no solid residue.
Furthermore, the residual carbon dioxide is shown to freeze into dry ice within the cold environment of the liquid oxygen container, illustrating carbon’s phase changes. The chemical reactions, structural details, and symbolism of diamonds are woven throughout the discussion, including the shape of diamond crystals as octahedrons.
The video concludes with reflections on the scientific ingenuity behind this experiment, the symbolic “diamond age,” and a cautionary note not to attempt such a dangerous experiment at home. The presenter shares the origin of the idea, inspired by gemological knowledge and curiosity, revealing this as a rare and unique demonstration of carbon’s transformation. The entire presentation combines scientific explanation with poetic and philosophical reflections on diamonds, their permanence, and their transformation through human intervention.
Highlights
- [00:00] Diamonds have a tetrahedral atomic structure, making them the hardest natural material.
- [01:54] Diamonds span the spectrum from industrial tools to luxury symbols of love.
- [03:17] ❄️ Liquid oxygen does not burn but supports combustion, requiring a source of fuel to ignite.
- [07:48] Oxygen gas condenses into liquid oxygen by cooling it with liquid nitrogen at -186°C.
- [13:23] Burning diamonds produces carbon dioxide, releasing carbon atoms from their crystal lattice.
- [21:22] Carbon dioxide produced during combustion freezes into dry ice within liquid oxygen’s cold environment.
- [31:11] ⚠️ Important safety warning: do not attempt to burn diamonds at home due to explosion and freezing risks.
Key Insights
- [00:00] Diamond’s Unique Atomic Structure: The tetrahedral arrangement of carbon atoms in diamonds results in the most compact and hardest natural material. This structural perfection explains why diamonds withstand immense pressure and wear, making them enduring geological and cultural symbols. The concept that the hardest and softest forms of carbon coexist (diamond vs. lamp black) underscores the versatility of carbon’s bonding.
- [01:54] ⚖️ Dual Nature of Diamonds – Utility vs. Luxury:Diamonds serve vastly different roles depending on their quality. Industrial diamonds, though not visually appealing, are essential in manufacturing and cutting tools due to their hardness. Conversely, gem-quality diamonds symbolize luxury, love, and status. This duality reflects how a single element, carbon, can manifest vastly different social and economic values.
- [03:17] Role of Liquid Oxygen in Combustion: Liquid oxygen itself is not flammable but acts as a powerful oxidizer, enabling materials like diamond to burn at much higher intensities than in normal air. This property is critical in understanding extreme combustion processes and has practical applications in scientific research and industry. The ability to liquefy oxygen and handle it safely for such experiments is a relatively recent human achievement.
- [13:23] Carbon Transformation During Combustion:Burning a diamond converts its carbon atoms into carbon dioxide gas, demonstrating a fundamental chemical transformation from a solid crystalline lattice to a gaseous molecular form. This process releases carbon atoms from their stable arrangement, allowing them to interact freely with oxygen. It is a vivid demonstration of how chemical bonds and states of matter can be altered through energy input.
- [21:22] ❄️ Carbon Dioxide Phase Change to Dry Ice: The experiment reveals that carbon dioxide generated from burning diamond can freeze into solid dry ice under the supercooled conditions of liquid oxygen. This direct gas-to-solid phase transition (deposition) is a striking example of the physical states of matter and the unique properties of carbon dioxide, relevant in both scientific and industrial contexts.
- [24:55] Diamond Crystal Geometry: Natural diamonds form in octahedral shapes, a direct manifestation of their atomic lattice symmetry. This geometric regularity is vital to gemology and materials science, influencing how diamonds are cut and valued. The octahedron is the natural crystal habit of diamond, reflecting the underlying tetrahedral atomic arrangement.
- [28:14] Human Ingenuity and Scientific Curiosity: The presenter’s idea to burn diamonds in liquid oxygen arose from gemological knowledge and creative thinking, highlighting the role of curiosity and interdisciplinary understanding in scientific discovery. The patented experiment symbolizes the transition from geological timescales to human-scale manipulation of elemental carbon, representing a new “diamond age” where humans control and transform basic elements at will.
This detailed exploration provides a unique window into the intersection of chemistry, physics, material science, and human culture, all centered around the remarkable element carbon and its ultimate form: the diamond.
Transcript
00:00
the case of diamond it’s a really beautiful tetrahedral arrangement which means that it’s the most compacted in principle that it could possibly be and that’s why diamonds are the hardest thing in nature so that diamonds are uh something in some sense very common because carbon is the most common element right i mean we’re carbon the wood is carbon every carbon is all around us in this room it’s one the most abundant element in on earth in our reality sound thing and where’s the sound thing for the
00:35
television um over there carbon is also the main ingredient of all living things right diamond uh is the most perfect the most in my mind simple and perfected form of carbon and it’s a limit case because it’s the hardest thing in on earth right i mean that’s easy to just kind of listen to that and hear that but if you really think about it there is one thing that’s the hardest thing on earth and it happens to be carbon which in its you know non-crystalline form is the softest thing
01:13
you know it’s black you know like the lamp black on the ceiling that’s just pure carbon so that’s black and opaque and soft and diamond over here is hard and sparkling and rainbows uh and you know faceted uh so uh it’s a it’s an amazing spectrum you know from from those of the spectrum also over here it could be an industrial tool you know diamond in the in porous well in it’s not gem quality is an industrial tool so it’s like really masculine and over here it’s a it’s the symbol of love and
01:54
it’s the most precious material on this hand so you go from utility to um luxury right so it’s a and also um it’s hard to believe but you’re going to see something that very few people have seen because nobody burns a diamond right i mean who who would do that you know that scientist doesn’t have a diamond and a jeweler’s not thinking about burning so that makes it a really special moment and just that that you’re going to actually see something that very few people have seen
02:27
period on earth ever it’s only been possible the last 100 years you know since it was possible to liquefy oxygen okay that’s what we’re going to do right now we’re going to make some liquid oxygen and this is this gets into i do this i do like a science lecture for kids and since i don’t happen to have any liquid oxygen it will be a little science thing for you guys too because normally i i could have it made but since i just arrived in hawaii i don’t have it made and so i have to make it
03:17
okay so what are you doing now this is liquid and this is this is oxygen okay on this tank does liquid oxygen burn at a higher a high degree centigrade um no liquid oxygen doesn’t burn at all it doesn’t it only fuels burning right okay so if you don’t have something to burn well you could put a mat i mean while you if you put a flame to liquid oxygen it doesn’t do anything i mean there’s 20 percent oxygen in this room and there’s 70 percent nitrogen which is kind of interesting to me everything
03:55
we’re dealing with is the most common stuff in this room you know the nitrogen is all around us the oxygen is all around us the carbon is all around us and we’re just going to mess with it we’re going to do some extreme things to it so all right this is the liquid nitrogen all right and it’s really really cold it’s a minus 186 degrees centigrade and this is just a big thermos jug the big thing i’m pouring from is a big thermos jug and the thing i’m pouring into is the
04:38
thermos jug that you are familiar with okay yeah all right big bag of tricks okay now you know how when you breathe on a window or something that cloud of condensation there right that’s because the water vapor in your lungs hits that colder surface and it condenses so that’s exactly what we’re going to do with the oxygen which is a gas in this bottle we’re going to put it this is a cylindrical window right and this is the inside where we’re standing blowing the breath into that
05:30
window this is gonna be blowing that okay all right now this is just going to be down in the bottom of that tube that can that’s my mouth down there blowing this oxygen onto the very cold surface of that inside of that tube okay um okay now i’m gonna put a little bit of oxygen into that tube okay i’m just filling the tube with oxygen right now okay now you’re gonna see you’re gonna see this bag inflate now when that bag collapses that means that the oxygen in the tube has turned from a gas
07:48
to a liquid just a little bit that’s in there yeah so we know that we can add a little so by cooling it down in the nitrogen it cools the oxygen and condenses it into a liquid i see and this bubbling now that’s going on is the energy that’s being stolen from the nitrogen to change the state of the oxygen you know if i was if that was just sitting there there wouldn’t be that much activity right but since we’re actually putting this hot warm oxygen into this cold nitrogen it’s it’s having to you know
08:44
like cool and we you know we’re we probably have enough right now i’m going to make a little bit extra i can only keep it for let’s see i can only keep it for a little while because it’s you know just like your hot coffee gets cold the cold oxygen will get hot and it’ll turn back into a gap but i can keep it for a little while in here okay okay there it is islands different those are industrial and these are general quality when you say gem quality not necessarily uh to be made into rings and things like
10:28
that well they have already been fasted these are now you see when i turn off the oxygen we get less activity right because it doesn’t have all the work to do that it had to do and trying to change the state of that oxygen right all right okay i’m gonna show you as you see it’s blue what is that fluid that nitrogen no this looks like oxygen liquid oxygen okay the nitrogen is still here what’s left of it nitrogen also will evaporate yes slower rate oh yeah half of it is gone that i put in
12:24
the thermos already by evaporation boiling really okay there’s that now we have a nice little amount of liquid oxygen there and we have the diamonds and [Music] now we know that when we burn carbon it’s just like when we breathe in air we burn carbon in our bodies and we give out carbon dioxide right so when you light a fire you’re making you’re you’re causing carbon to be transformed into carbon dioxide so obviously when we burn the diamond the gas that comes off is going to be
13:23
carbon dioxide i like to think of the diamond actually coming to life during this time that it’s doing what we’re doing it’s burning right it’s transforming the diamond would continue to be but diamond forever nothing you know it doesn’t uh chemically change uh it’s the hardest thing on earth so that it the diamonds that are you know millions of years old that have been in in the rivers and alluvial deposits are still that you can still see the crystal structure because no matter how long
13:54
they’re rubbed against other materials in nature they stay diamond so that it’s a it’s a permanent situation and then which is another limit case it’s something that will always be so that when you when we change this diamond today when we transform it we’re it’s a really unique thing i mean it’s something that is can’t happen by itself it has to be done by consciousness it has to be done by man so how uh just did we bring uh i don’t know did i bring in the water maybe i forgot the water
14:32
said i’m glad to see we even have a fire extinguisher in view i poured a little up so i have some bubbling around okay now this is like making seltzer isn’t it yeah same exact thing although there’s not enough carbon dioxide to carbonate it but it’s exactly what’s happening the carbon dioxide chemically reacts quickly vigorously with the water to form carbonic acid that’s not that’s nothing scary that’s just what is in your coca-cola or sparkling water champagne beer or
15:07
whatever right it’s all the same thing although in that case the carbon dioxide is put pushed in beyond the chemical a reacting phase until it becomes dissolved in the uh in the water and that’s what makes the bubbles that’s why you have the effervescence so this so it takes one carbon atom for every two oxygen atoms out of the diamond so you can think of those carbon atoms that have been carbon they’ve been sitting there carbon in the diamond lattice for a billion years all of a sudden they’re going to have a
15:48
buddy on each arm right and they’re going to be independent they can do stuff now they can combine with other things in the world they were really really releasing them from the collective like the borg right now they’re going to become individuals okay this is just a test tube i put it in the glass so that because it’s so cold it’ll immediately get condensation on it so it’s harder to see the reaction but this way it doesn’t get any condensation on it now um i have never used this torch so i’m hoping
16:27
that we’ll have success okay and we want a diamond you want to pick a diamond oh how many do you want to pick now pick two because who knows sometimes i drop one so the darker ones are the industrial and the lighter ones are gemstone quality okay okay now once i start burning the diamond i’m going to put this in the top right and that’s going to force the burning the gases to go through the water so the dime is going to be burning the water is going to be bubbling and a transformation has been waiting
17:30
billions of years is going to happen right before your eyes don’t forget to notice what you’re seeing let’s see we have to have gloves and we have to put some of this okay so you got a nice little diamond here did you have to make the diamonds really small for it to work or just uh no they it i mean i the biggest one i’ve ever burned is maybe a quarter of a carrot okay you go all right look at that twinkle twinkle little star right so it is literally burning up i mean when this is done there will be no
19:06
diamond left it’ll be completely gasified vaporized see the bubbles carbon carbon dioxide going into the water is the water drinkable i guess it is of course i mean that’s the whole point yeah boom you want to see it one more time yeah that’s beautiful and the unique thing these diamonds are changing after billions of years and by putting them together you combine them in this room today wow which is to me an amazing thing i mean it’s spectacular it’s you know it’s a demonstration
20:01
of our genius you know as i mean that we got to the place that we can do this it’s kind of sick to me it signals signals a the change of an age i mean you know we’re talking you know millions of years so you know that a hundred years is a sudden change you know so that to me this symbolizes a change from the you know into the diamond age right this is the ultimate campfire the most the ultimate way that you can sit here by a fire by the fire side now we’re going to move into different
20:40
kinds of oh you know ways of burning and we’re not going to be burning carbon anymore that’s past history this is it we finished that right we burned down so will it crystallize in the water the truth of the matter is look at this see how it’s um see the light there the cloudiness of what’s left of the liquid oxygen it was perfectly clear now what do you think that is in there i’m gonna tell you because you’re not gonna know all we were dealing with is oxygen carbon and that’s it and fire right
21:22
i mean the heat of combustion so it has to be oxygen or carbon in there yeah yeah and what it actually is is carbon uh it’s co2 frozen that’s you know what that’s what dry ice is yeah so you’re looking at diamond dry ice right now wow you know some of it went as vapor but some of it’s still trapped in the oxygen because the oxygen is much colder than it needs to be dry ice is only minus 70. you know c so and also interestingly car co2 goes directly from a gas into a solid it doesn’t go through a
22:05
liquid phase but we’re going to um not we’re not going to miss that diamond that’s in there does the diamond in the water crystallize at all no it stays this says carbon that it’s just it there’s a chemical reaction to carbonic acid and i don’t really know the formula for that okay i should probably look that up so now you’re pouring just pouring what’s left of the liquid oxygen in there so that whatever was actually in the oxygen is going to go into the water okay and then i’m going to
22:45
dissolve what’s left in the tube just by putting some water in it ah and you can feel that how cold that is even with the separation you know just just the coldness of it all right now we have dining water wow that’s the the process of just making the water and then there’s a lot of other aspects of that for me because of doing this and being associated with diamonds and thinking about diamonds and all the myriad of ways that they’re symbolic i’ve come up with a lot of other
24:07
a lot of other stuff uh having to do with that that amazing structure of the diamond that makes it the hardest thing on earth and the fact of the crystal structure of diamond is really this if you just think of that one side that this is this is the way that the diamond atoms are arranged in the diamond lattice yeah and then this is the octahedron in the middle which is what diamond is that is the crystal form that diamond takes in nature this is what happens to be a beautiful little diamond crystal i don’t know how
24:55
good your eyes are but if you look at that you’ll see that’s it that it’s this it’s an octahedron and the diamonds form in that shape and that hasn’t been cut or anything that’s exactly how it was uh how it formed in nature pretty amazing isn’t it jason take a look at that baby we can take it out of it it’s okay i’m just looking see what can be seen wow you can put it in there if you want to see it oh good very good yeah so that’s good so it’s the explanation
25:43
about the process that goes with it that creates more of the fascination but what we just saw there’s a unique experience never to be duplicated again with those diamonds because those diamonds once they’ve changed to gas have no way do they have a way of getting solid again no none at all well sure if you could recover those that very carbon and separate it from the oxygen you could recrystallize the carbon under tremendous heat and pressure in a diamond press which is how they make synthetic diamonds
26:17
right so you could take the same carbon and and restructure it back to diamonds so that process can be reversed that’s what synthetic is all about right let’s see wow so but that carbon atom exists and ultimately it could become [Music] i mean you know we dealt with it the diamond is the earth the oxygen is the air or the fire and here’s the water and uh and you know also the liquid the liquid nature of the gases that we look what’s right behind you in the poster very funny the wizard oh yeah that’s great
27:08
so well thank you for that the liquid oxygen that’s burning the diamond while it’s in that chamber yes but you have to heat it up to a certain temperature to put it in the liquid oxygen yeah if you just drop it in if it’s not white hot and that that is a problem until i discovered that butane is a few degrees hotter than propane because i can’t bring with oxygen i can’t carry i you know otherwise you have to have a torch with gas and oxygen to get the flame and then uh so i didn’t like having to
27:36
do that in public so i i tried to use a propane torch and it wouldn’t quite do it it wasn’t quite couldn’t get the diamond quite hot enough to catch you know but that butane a few hundred degrees hotter and it uh it was just enough to work and i’m happy to say my torch worked where did you get the ideas to first do this um i was just it was just a five minute thought process i just thought what diamonds are pure carbon what happens is that diamonds must burn i remembered that they burn in liquid oxygen from my
28:14
studies as a gemologist and that it was a beautiful thing to see that that was you know stated and and then i thought well what happens when diamond burns produces carbon dioxide what do we do with carbon dioxide and my brain said coca-cola and the next thing my brain said was diamond water [Laughter] so and then i googled it and there was no such thing you know and no one had ever uh put i’m i’m you know i would be surprised if anybody had ever done it i mean even with the fact that it wasn’t
28:52
recorded i don’t think that anyone would it was just too simple it was too obvious of a thing and i patent it which was very surprising to me that i was able to get it but the patent officer was a young guy and he really liked it he called well he asked me to call him up because he couldn’t call me but he said this is awesome he says i deal with these complicated chemical formulas all day long and this is just great so simple so anyway well i look forward to us sitting and talk we’ll talk more about
29:24
this in a separate interview in beautiful green maui what do you think all right jason yay for maui first time ever well thank you for doing this for us it was the 81st time wow i have a log book of every time i need a pen we’re gonna we’re gonna put in the log book wow and you know two individual crystals you know and they’re coming together and they’re dancing in there you know there’s a lot of symbolism in it is the movement from the carbon well it’s just that well it’s the boiling of the of the
30:28
oxygen you know the oxygen is is changing phase and it’s boiling away in there and that’s so it’s just dancing around in the boiling water so 11 7 11 this is the 81st time yeah wow thank you for doing it for us i’m sure that our viewers are going to appreciate watching this process and the conversation about all that you’re doing oh there’s one more thing we want to say don’t try this at home don’t go the kids don’t take your diamond rings from your mom and do this process
31:11
