Most people think of diamonds as expensive jewelry, or maybe as super-hard drills. But everyone’s missing the coolest story here…
We’ve built giant machines that can recreate the conditions inside our planet. And found new ways to make diamonds way cheaper, now unlocking the hidden potential of this super material.
People are sending diamonds into space, adding them to massive computers, and using them to help solve one of the biggest technological problems we’re about to face.
This is about pushing the limits of material science to benefit all of us. So in this video, we’re getting rare access inside a lab where they make diamonds to see how they actually do it…
And we’re gonna shrink down inside your computer to show you why diamonds are not what you think.
Chapters:
00:00 Diamonds are not what you think
01:38 Where do natural diamonds come from?
02:17 Why are diamonds so hard?
03:48 What's a diamond's secret superpower?
05:09 Why does my computer get so hot?
05:50 How small is a transistor?
06:43 What's the limitation of transistors?
10:32 Who grew a diamond first?
11:49 How do you grow a diamond now?
13:39 Are natural diamonds better than lab grown?
14:24 How could diamonds be used next?
15:21 Why are engineers so excited about diamonds?
16:28 :)
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Bio:
Cleo Abram is an Emmy-nominated independent video journalist. On her show, HUGE* If True, Cleo explores complex technology topics with rigor and optimism, helping her audience understand the world around them and see positive futures they can help build. Before going independent, Cleo was a video producer for Vox. She wrote and directed the Coding and Diamonds episodes of Vox’s Netflix show, Explained. She produced videos for Vox’s popular YouTube channel, was the host and senior producer of Vox’s first ever daily show, Answered, and was co-host and producer of Vox’s YouTube Originals show, Glad You Asked.
Additional reading and watching:
- IEEE, Dr, Chowdhury, Diamond Blankets Will Keep Future Chips Cool: https://spectrum.ieee.org/diamond-thermal-conductivity
- Akash Systems Diamond Cooling: https://akashsystems.com/technology
- The Diamond Makers by Robert M. Hazen
- "How Diamonds May Be Key in Making Microchips Faster" (Wall Street Journal): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZImf2IMl6DI
- "How to Make a Real Diamond" (JerryRigEverything): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o5RprIJmfA
- "The Heat Wall AI Can't Climb" (Tiff In Tech): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otUeXLF6tUw
- "The quantum world of diamonds" (Nature): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCT0wDLyvSs
- LattiSpec: https://lattispec.com/
- DARPA Ultra Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Program
- How To Make A Diamond, JerryRigEverything https://youtu.be/6o5RprIJmfA?si=xLu6VpyQKlA62yCY
- The 300-Year Quest to Make Real Diamonds in a Lab, Be Smart https://youtu.be/8ieWJq0MaXw?si=ST6P--N0kDmKSbrA
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Special thanks to:
- Robert Basnett, CEO and Dr. William Holber, President & CTO of Plasmability
- Prof. Srabanti Chowdhury of Stanford University
- Pamit Surana, Co-Founder & CCO of Akash Systems
- Liz Chatelain, Co-Founder of LattiSpec
- Dr. Wuyi Yang and Dr. Evan Smith at the GIA
- Daniel Twitchen, Executive Director of Element Six
- Dr. Samuel Graham, Jr., Dean of the Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland
- Prof. Alastair Stacey from Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
- John Ciraldo, CTO and Brittany Lewis, CCO of WD Advanced Materials
Vox: https://www.vox.com/authors/cleo-abram
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10108242/
Gear I use:
Camera: Sony A7SIII
Lens: Sony 16–35 mm F2.8 GM
Audio: Sennheiser SK AVX and Zoom H4N Pro
Music: Musicbed, Tom Fox
Follow along for more episodes of HUGE* If True: https://www.youtube.com/cleoabram?sub_confirmation=1
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Hey, welcome to the joke down low!
Why was the diamond so good in the kitchen? It can handle the heat!
Find a way to use “heat” in a comment to let me know you’re a real one who made it to the end of the description :)