Researchers working in Mexico City have discovered a method of turning tequila into diamonds using heat evaporation. The scientists, who had been working on creating synthetic diamonds, discovered the process by accident.
Over the course of their research at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the trio of scientists -- Miguel Aptiga, Javier Morales, and Victor Castao – had noted that the ideal liquid for diamond creation contained a specific proportion of ethanol to water.
They realized that tequila contained roughly the same proportions: 40 percent organic liquid to 60 percent water. Out of curiosity, Aptiga bought a bottle of cheap tequila from the campus shop.
The researchers used a custom-built device to heat the tequila and convert it into a gas. They then heated the resulting gas to an even hotter temperature, 800 degrees Celsius. The result? Tiny diamond crystals about 100-400 nm in diameter. The crystals rained onto a stainless steel base, and formed a film made of diamonds.
“There is no doubt; tequila has the exact proportion of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms necessary to form diamonds,” Ap?tiga said.
Jewelry enthusiasts shouldn’t get their hopes up, however. The diamonds are too tiny to be used in jewelry.
“It would be very difficult to obtain diamonds for a ring,” Ap?tiga said.
The scientists foresee their tequila-diamonds being used for industrial purposes. Because diamonds are extraordinarily hard and heat-resistant, they’re often used in cutting tools, high-power semiconductors, radiation detectors and optical electronic devices.
Eventually, the scientists say, they want to find a distiller interested in supplying them with tequila. But, first, more research is in order: they want to find the brand of tequila best-suited for making diamonds.
