Coal and diamond are substances that have the same composition but extremely different values. Just imagine making jewelry using charcoal or lighting a fireplace by putting diamonds to burn, wouldn't that be absurd?
In fact, the similarity between diamond and coal is limited only to the fact that coal is a carbon-rich mineral and diamonds are also made of carbon.
And why does diamond have such a high value, as opposed to coal, which is simply burned?
Let's look at the differences in the training process:
Diamonds are obtained under extremely high pressures from magma present in the Earth's interior (well below the crust). It took several centuries for layers of magma to be deposited on top of each other, causing heavy pressure. The magma was being compressed until it became petrified. The result you already know, beautiful, durable and very valuable diamonds.
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Charcoal, on the other hand, comes from a much more simplified and accessible process, it is obtained from the decomposition of leaves, vegetation and trees. The chosen location is underground, where temperatures rise in relative pressure. Coal is formed from the physical and chemical changes that are conducive to these conditions, in a much shorter time than that which produces diamonds.
Therefore, it would not be possible for both substances to have the same commercial value, since the formation time differs in the two processes.
By Líria Alves
Graduated in Chemistry
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SOUZA, Líria Alves de. "Coal and diamond, what makes them different?"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/quimica/carvao-diamante-que-os-difere.htm. Accessed on June 28, 2021.
