At high temperatures and pressures, molten carbon has two options. It can crystallize into diamond and become one of the world’s most valuable substances. Alternatively, it can crystallize into graphite, which is industrially useful but somewhat less exciting.
Researchers in the US have now discovered what causes molten carbon to “choose” one crystalline form over the other. Their findings, which are based on sophisticated simulations that use machine learning to predict molecular behaviour, have implications for several fields, including geology, nuclear fusion and quantum computing as well as industrial diamond production.
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