Question

What is the reason behind the shining of diamond and how do you appreciate it?

Answer 1

Hint:To answer this question, we first need to understand what diamond is.Diamond is a solid form of carbon that has its atoms organized in a diamond cubic crystal structure. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at ambient temperature and pressure, but diamond almost never transforms to it.

Complete answer:
Three factors contribute to the brilliance of diamonds: reflection, refraction, and dispersion. The light that strikes the diamond and is immediately reflected back up, giving it an instantaneous sparkle, is known as reflection. While this gleam is stunning, it merely scratches the surface of a diamond's full brightness. A diamond reflects just a part of the light it receives; the rest passes through it.

Light is scattered and broken as it passes through the diamond, giving it the glitter that diamonds are known for. This is how refraction works. Diamonds are, in essence, tiny, intricate prisms; light enters through the top and is slanted around the inside of the diamond before returning to the top and exiting through the surface. This adds to the brilliance and creates a rainbow look (dispersion). Depending on where the light hits along the diamond's surfaces, this refraction and dispersion creates natural light and dark patches in the refracted light.

Diamonds shine because they have a high refractive index. The refractive index determines how much light is reflected. The higher the substance's refractive index, the lighter will be reflected. The diamond is cut in such a way that a ray of light falling on it is reflected many times within the diamond. Total internal reflection occurs when light strikes the diamond at angles greater than the critical angle.

Note:It's not easy to make a diamond dazzle and shine the way it should; skilled professionals must know just how to cut and polish each stone to achieve the greatest results. When you notice how a diamond throws a gorgeous display of light and color when it is moved this way and that, you can see the consequences of this labor.