Freethought & Rationalism Archive

my dog earl · 05-12-2003, 07:39 PM

Has anyone heard of some outfit compressing human remains into diamonds as an alternative to burials/cremations? They supposedly then make a ring from this diamond. This was brought up to me as "proof" that the world isn't older than 6 thousand years because diamonds supposedly take millions of years to form. Is there any truth to this?

Abel Stable · 05-12-2003, 08:06 PM

LifeGem : Wear Your Dearly Departed

Quote:

This was brought up to me as "proof" that the world isn't older than 6 thousand years because diamonds supposedly take millions of years to form.

Here's how their website explains the process:

"About half way through the standard cremation process, we separate the carbonized matter into our unique carbon curing container where it remains for the rest of the cremation. Here the carbon cures and becomes the black powder we are all familiar with from science class.

This carbon is then placed in a sealed and uniquely identified crucible and moved into the purification phase of processing. Once purified, the carbon is placed in our unique diamond presses and the creation of your families LifeGem begins"

So I guess they propose this is how diamonds are always made?

I wonder what "uniquely identified crucibles" and "unique diamond presses" are.

BioBeing · 05-12-2003, 08:57 PM

Natural diamond formation requires heat, pressure and time. It seems that by increasing the first two, the third is dramatically reduced.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon...diamonds.shtml
http://www.jimsgems.com/syndia.html
http://jewelry.about.com/cs/syntheticdiamonds/

DeBeers seem to have some concerns about the process...

What carat weight would you get from a human....

Bree · 05-12-2003, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by my dog earl
This was brought up to me as "proof" that the world isn't older than 6 thousand years because diamonds supposedly take millions of years to form.

That has to be one of the stupidest (pardon the bad grammar) arguments I've ever heard. So what if scientists can make lab-created gems? That's why some stones are listed as "lab-created" and some as "first water" - DUH!

Seriously though, how was this argument presented?

lpetrich · 05-12-2003, 10:23 PM

1 carat = 1/5 grams

Adult human body mass is
~ 100 - 200 lbs
~ 50 - 100 kg
~ 250,000 to 500,000 carats

Carbon is ~ 18% of human body mass, from this source.

This means that the actual diamond mass would be

~ 45,000 to 90,000 carats

During cremation, much of the carbon departs as CO2 and CO, and I don't know how much is left.

ju'iblex · 05-13-2003, 02:48 AM

there was a thread on this same thing many moons ago in misc. When the search function gets going I'll post the link, I believe it also stated why LifeGem was a total scam.

Lobstrosity · 05-13-2003, 02:51 AM

What's up with the search function, anyway? Why is it currently disabled?

ju'iblex · 05-13-2003, 04:14 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lobstrosity
What's up with the search function, anyway? Why is it currently disabled?

the search function has been disabled for everyone at the moment because they're trying to reindex it or somesuch to get rid of the server busy errors. As evidenced by <hey, you're a skeptic right?

> this thread in Bugs

BioBeing · 05-13-2003, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by lpetrich
1 carat = 1/5 grams

Adult human body mass is
~ 100 - 200 lbs
~ 50 - 100 kg
~ 250,000 to 500,000 carats

Carbon is ~ 18% of human body mass, from this source.

This means that the actual diamond mass would be

~ 45,000 to 90,000 carats

During cremation, much of the carbon departs as CO2 and CO, and I don't know how much is left.

Well, assuming even 1%, that would be one nice stone! However, from here prices are reported to be $2000 for 1/4 carat. So, a bit out of my price range...

Quote:

While a stone from human remains has yet to be delivered, Moloney's LifeGem display is created from animal remains.

...

The European Gemological Laboratory in Manhattan certifies both natural and synthetic gems. Sharrie Woodring says the LifeGem process is technically possible, but there's no way to be sure that the ring on your finger is actually from your loved one, �Synthetic diamonds are essentially pure carbon and at EGL we're not trying to identify the source of the carbon. As far as I know, there's not even a way to identify the source of the carbon.�

But LifeGem says the process is carefully controlled.

�We're an open company. If they have any concern at all, they're welcome to witness many parts of our operation to make sure that we are doing what we're doing,� says Herro.

Wizardry · 05-13-2003, 09:21 PM

Sending this to a more appropriate forum...

05-12-2003, 07:39 PM	#1
my dog earl Regular Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 149	dust to diamonds Has anyone heard of some outfit compressing human remains into diamonds as an alternative to burials/cremations? They supposedly then make a ring from this diamond. This was brought up to me as "proof" that the world isn't older than 6 thousand years because diamonds supposedly take millions of years to form. Is there any truth to this?

05-13-2003, 09:21 PM	#10
Wizardry Regular Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Florida, USA Posts: 363	Moved to Science and Skepticism Sending this to a more appropriate forum...

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05-12-2003, 08:57 PM	#3
BioBeing Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Memphis, TN Posts: 6,004	Natural diamond formation requires heat, pressure and time. It seems that by increasing the first two, the third is dramatically reduced. http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon...diamonds.shtml http://www.jimsgems.com/syndia.html http://jewelry.about.com/cs/syntheticdiamonds/ DeBeers seem to have some concerns about the process... What carat weight would you get from a human....

05-12-2003, 10:23 PM	#5
lpetrich Contributor Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Lebanon, OR, USA Posts: 16,829	1 carat = 1/5 grams Adult human body mass is ~ 100 - 200 lbs ~ 50 - 100 kg ~ 250,000 to 500,000 carats Carbon is ~ 18% of human body mass, from this source. This means that the actual diamond mass would be ~ 45,000 to 90,000 carats During cremation, much of the carbon departs as CO2 and CO, and I don't know how much is left.

05-13-2003, 02:48 AM	#6
ju'iblex Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Sydney Australia and beyond the realms of Gehenna Posts: 6,035	there was a thread on this same thing many moons ago in misc. When the search function gets going I'll post the link, I believe it also stated why LifeGem was a total scam.

05-13-2003, 02:51 AM	#7
Lobstrosity Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: San Diego, California Posts: 719	What's up with the search function, anyway? Why is it currently disabled?

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