Diamond Indian

R. Diamond, S. Ramaseshan, and K. Venkatesan, Computing in Crystallography, Lectures delivered at the International Winter School on Crystallographic Computing held in Bangalore, India, 4-14 January 1980, Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore, 1980. 

Diamonds were first discovered in India as early as about 800 BC. The early diamond mines were the alluvial gravel in the banks or beds of active or dried up rivers in which diamond and other heavy and hard crystals had been concentrated by the action of the flooding water. The most famous Indian mine was at Kollur near Hyderabad where several historical diamonds (the chief among them being the Koh-i-Nur) were found. Although most of the Indian diamond mines dried up by the 18 century, the mines at Panna in Madhya Pradesh are still operational and some new fields in the vicinity are soon to be opened for commercial exploitation. 

The Indian diamond, not having its birth in gold, is known by its translucid crystal colour and sex-angular sides it is either cone-shaped at one end or else it has the form of a lozenge it is sometimes as large as a hazel. This species is said by Serapion to approximate to the colour of Sal Ammoniac. 

Hendrickson, W. A., and Konnert, J. H. Computing in crystallography. Incorporation of stereochemical information into crystallographic refinement. In Computing in Crystallography. (Eds., Diamond, R., Ramaseshan, S. and Venkat-sesan, K.) pp. 13.01-13.25. Indian Academy of Science Bangalore (1980). 

It was only when the Indian mines were exhausted in the 18th century that new sources of the coveted stone had to be found. In the year 1726, diamond for the first time was found out of Asia while searching for gold in the then Portuguese colony of Brazil. This caused a veritable diamond rush that lasted for several years. But after some time, these sources began to run dry as well (today, there... 

Raman left Calcutta in 1933 to become the director of the Indian Institute of Science, in Bangalore, where he remained until 1948. He continued his research on optical and electromechanical phenomena but also worked on a wide range of problems that reflected his fascination with the natural world—diamonds, seashells, and the coloration of flowers and feathers. In 1948 he established the Raman Research Institute in Bangalore, where he continued to carry out research until almost the end of his life. He died on November 21, 1970. see also Spectroscopy. 

Diamonds were first discovered in the sands of India the r were not known in Europe until Alexander the Great returne l from India 327 b.c. The Romans introduced them into Westei 1 Europe and used them for graving tools, producing cameos ar 1 intaglios in hard stone. They do not appear to have used diamon< s as jewels. The Indian industry was centred round Golconda, ne r Hyderabad it was a fortress and market for the gems, but now merely a ruined city. 

In 1926 a small red diamond was found in alluvial diggings near Kimberley and was expected to weigh 6 carats when cut and to be worth close upon 1000. A clear apple green stone of 41 carats is known as the Dresden Diamond, an Indian stone purchased in 1743 for the Crown of Saxony. Blue stones are almost as rare as the red, the most famous example being the Hope Diamond (p. 62) it is thought that the Brunswick Blue Diamond may have been cut from the same stone. Yellow is the most common colour, the most famous being the Austrian Yellow Diamond (p. 61), the... 

The Austrian lellow or Grand Duke of Tuscany Diamond, known also as the Florentine Diamond, is probably of Indian origin it was cut as a briolette in 1476 for Charles the Bold. It is pale yellow in colour, and weighs 137 27 metric carats. Prior to World War II it was kept in Vienna. It was one of the heirlooms of the Royal House of Austria. 

Figure 1 Concentrations of cadmium vs. phosphate measured in ocean water samples worldwide. Circles = Paeifie, diamonds = Atlantic, squares = Antaretie, triangles = Indian Ocean. Reprodueed by permission from Ref. [66].

Next year, 1988, marks both the centenary of the birth of the Indian scientist C.V. Raman and the diamond jubilee of the discovery of the Raman effect in 1928. Raman spectroscopy has turned out to be one of the most valuable and versatile of all spectroscopic techniques, and the Indian scientific community, and others, plan to celebrate. 

The Victoria Jubilee Technical Institute may be said to be the precursor of the polytechnic model. Established in Bombay in 1887 to commemorate the Diamond Jnbilee of Queen Victoria, it trained hcentiates in electrical, mechanical, and textile engineering and technology (Sen 1989, p. 227). The Indian Education Commission of 1882 under the stewardship of Sir William Hunter made a series of excellent recommendations to improve technical education. Rather than yoke technical education to the colonial imperative. Sir William intended to forge an efficient industrial society in India by a concerted development of human resources. Understandably, he met with Uttle success. 

Figure 5.4 Reactions of British troops stationed in India (290 exposed) and Indian troops (300 exposed) to SM. Points represent threshold or greater (circles), pigmentation or greater (triangles), erythema or greater (squares) and vesication (diamonds).

Fig. 32. Plot of Ce/Ce vs. dissolved Si concentrations from the North Atlantic Ocean (open circles, Greaves et al. 1991, Mitra et al. 1994) from the southeastern Atlantic Ocean (solid circles, German et al. 1995) from the Indian Ocean (open triangles, Bertram and Elderfield 1993) and from the Pacific Ocean (open diamonds, Piepgras and Jacobsen 1992). Linear regression of the data (excluding AABW-influenced southeastern Atlantic bottom waters) yields the equation Ce/Ce = 0.136-0.000463 [Si] (/ = 0.67). From German et al. (1995).

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