Skip to main content Skip to navigation

News

Show all news items

Diamond is more than just a gemstone!

From Monday 4th to Sunday 10th July, The Royal Society in London opened its doors to the public as it hosted a Summer Science Exhibition, a week-long free festival of visionary science and technology. The diamond groups at Warwick, along with other institutions, put on an exhibit there entitled "Diamond: More Than Just A Gemstone", which showcased the fantastic properties of diamond other than looking great in jewellery, and promoted its potential as a material for a variety of scientific and engineering applications.

dia dia

Researchers from Warwick Electrochemistry's diamond group demonstrated the "ice trick" which utilises the thermal properties of diamond, and also a light up electrode stand where visitors could test for themselves the electrical conductivity of boron doped diamond. Warwick Physics's diamond group put together a stand exploring the quantum properties of diamond and the influence of magnetic fields over it. Finally, the team at Aberystwyth University built a glowing LED model of diamond and used it to explain how diamond can be grown in the lab and how different dopants affect its properties. We also had representatives from Cardiff University, University of Bristol, and Element Six on the stand throughout the week.

dia dia

Over the course of the week, around 15,000 visitors passed through the doors, and our team was noted as always being extremely enthusiastic. Visitors ranged from small children to Nobel prize winners, and we received great reviews from everyone - as could be seen from the popularity of the stand, particularly the ice demonstration! Well done to everyone who took part, for making this event a huge success!

dia dia

Wed 13 Jul 2016, 14:53 | Tags: Events Public Engagement