35 replies to this topic

[alnite]

Clicky Link

Now there is such a possibility, what do you guys think of the future of mankind? Will this kind of discovery enough to push people toward interplanetary travels? Will the riches of Earth create One Big Corp. to fund space travels to mine rare minerals?

What about a planet made of gold? or oil?

Hell, I am getting ideas just thinking about this...

[achild]

Slight correction: It isn't made of diamonds, it basically is a giant diamond. (you know.. they think so at least)

[Sirisian]

So umm 88 years at 1g acceleration if my math is right (though a 4G system would be possible). Sounds profitable. Hopefully in 160 years when someone leaves diamonds are still valuable and aren't all man made. I doubt ion thrusters would hold up, and getting clearance for a Project Orion vehicle is probably hard. Sigh too bad.

[kseh]

I gotta imagine that there's issues harvesting useful diamonds from such a gigantic one. At least here you can chip away at the surrounding rock until the diamond is free and then just pick it up. But when the surrounding rock is diamond, how do you get a useful piece that's not the size of a mountain?

On the idea of a planet made out of oil, since the creation of oil requires organic material and Earth is just teaming with life, I say that you could consider our planet as being as much made of oil as you are likely to find anywhere out in space.

[ApochPiQ]

Great.


Now every woman in the Western world is going to pout when they get their engagement rings, because they didn't get the biggest diamond evar.


This is terrible news for men.

[KanonBaum]

Great.


Now every woman in the Western world is going to pout when they get their engagement rings, because they didn't get the biggest diamond evar.


This is terrible news for men.

I was thinking the exact same thing.

So you know what... Screw that planet.

[Yann L]

So umm 88 years at 1g acceleration if my math is right (though a 4G system would be possible). Sounds profitable. Hopefully in 160 years when someone leaves diamonds are still valuable and aren't all man made. I doubt ion thrusters would hold up, and getting clearance for a Project Orion vehicle is probably hard. Sigh too bad.

Uhm, doesn't the article say it's 4000 ly away ? You'd need some seriously exotic propulsion system to get there in only 88 years ;)

[phantom]

Well, I have this plan for a hyperspace engine knocking about....

[ApochPiQ]

Well, I have this plan for a hyperspace engine knocking about....

Unfortunately, it would cost a planet-sized diamond to build it.

[B O N E S]

Well they believe it's very dense and make of carbon but they aren't sure if it's in the shiny form of diamond that we see on diamond rings and jewelry. I think I read somewhere that it was like 4 or 5 thousand light years away too but I'm not sure about that(not to mention the radiating star nearby).

[Uziel2101]

Let's just say it.... "Diamonds ... that'll shut her up!" - Ron "Tater Salad" White

[ddn3]

A giant planet (roughly the size of Jupiter) made of crystalline carbon (ie diamond). Carbon is an interesting material, conductive, polymorphic ( graphite, graphene, diamond, etc..) and stable (were based on it). If there was any planet which rock creatures could evolve it would be there. Powered by the pulsar star it orbits, lithovoric life could flourish under the blue sun.

-ddn

[ChurchSkiz]

It would never be worth it for this specific planet. Mainly because diamonds aren't that rare and don't hold much value. The value we attribute to them is only due to a markup at retail and superior marketing. A handful of people control all the diamonds in the world, and even buy back large amounts to control the flow to the markets. If all the diamonds in the world were available for sale the price would drop lower than most gemstones (rubies, emeralds, etc.).

[Drathis]

If it was a planet made of sex, it would take about 2 years to advance the technology enough to get there. Diamonds are not valuable enough.

[Krohm]

Clicky Link
...
What about a planet made of gold? or oil?

I also think this is fairly funny.
A planet of gold, perhaps reachable with current tech, could come handy I suppose.
Oil? After we run the spaceship on solar/fusion for centuries? Just say no.

[Tachikoma]

Dudes, it's just carbon! We can make them artificially anyway... even from pets...

I would imagine gravity on that planet would be quite strong. To compress and entire carbon core into diamond would require some tremendous pressures. Even if the outer atmosphere is completely gone, I'd imagine its mass would be sufficient hight enough for stuff to never leave the gravity well once landed on it. Also, stuff will be fried by the neutron star nearby.

[Wan]

Now every woman in the Western world is going to pout when they get their engagement rings, because they didn't get the biggest diamond evar.

Dudes, it's just carbon! We can make them artificially anyway... even from pets...

"No problem dear. Could you hold this kitten while I try to find a printing press?"

[Prefect]

A planet of gold, perhaps reachable with current tech, could come handy I suppose.

At the very least it would finally end the gold bubble

[Cornstalks]

Doesn't earth already have a ton of diamonds, but corporate greed (De Beers) puts a throttle on their selling and jacks up their prices to make them seem more "rare"? Albeit I'm not 100% certain of their quality...

[alnite]

Doesn't earth already have a ton of diamonds, but corporate greed (De Beers) puts a throttle on their selling and jacks up their prices to make them seem more "rare"? Albeit I'm not 100% certain of their quality...

Possible. Plus marketing push that ties diamonds to weddings also seem to drive the demands for diamonds.

I always thought this kind of thing only exist in scifi stories. It's actually there now!