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[Ithil]

 

[SRG01]

Aluminium is still relatively expensive due to power required for its refining. IIRC, aluminium ore gets shipped to places where electricity is cheap, even quite long distances.

It's waaaay cheaper compared to what it used to cost before the reduction of aluminum was discovered. In fact, the recycling of aluminum is cheaper than aluminum ore itself.

 

[Kayhan]

Raining Solid Diamonds On Uranus.

That is the name of my punk rock band.

 

[Not]

Could you imagine going there and sucking up a few hundred of those? You'll make some mad money with that.

About the same amount of money to get to Uranus, I bet

Spoiler

Ho!

 

[thecouncil]

 

[giant_frying_pan]

Uranus is a girl's best friend.

Well done.

 

[Chronoja]

If gas giant diamond rain impresses you folks, wait until you learn that there's pretty much entire stars formed of diamond.

 

[Cipherr]

Best reference

 

[Beartruck]

That will get the corporations scrambling for space.

Half of the interest in private space flight right now is to get a chance to mine an asteroid for rare metals. You do that and you're the richest man alive.

 

[Jarrod38]

 

[itwasTuesday]

ready

Time will see us realign
Diamonds rain across the sky
Shower me into the same realm

 

[Spikematic]

Uranus is a girl's best friend.

Best post.

 

[Fixed2BeBroken]

Diamonds aren't really that rare/valuable here on Earth - it's just that all the diamond mines are owned by a couple people who got together, forming a monopoly, making diamonds seem valuable to better line their pockets.

i think this has been clarified enough already.

 

[Premium Quality]

He went to Uranus.

 

[Dubbedinenglish]

Really want to see those rocks on Uranus

 

[show me your skeleton]

Time will see us realign
Diamonds rain across the sky
Shower me into the same realm

was not expecting deftones lyrics.

 

[Biske]

Obviously we are a long long way from this, but it does make you wonder about the potential of space mining.

 

[geomon]

researchers say they were able to produce this "diamond rain" using fancy plastic and high-powered lasers

Science is so fucking cool.

 

[Plum]

"It rains solid diamonds on Uranus and Neptune!"



"Diamonds are common af they're just highly valued because of cartels and artificial rarity"

 

[Philia]

I'm feeling old here... this is basically the entire premise for Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer.

This villain would love to take the whole planet for herself.

Copied from Wiki: "Rainbow takes the mission to find Orin and later learns that Spectra is dimming as the result of a massive net being woven around the surface. It is being made so that a selfish princess (Rhonda Aldrich), known only as the "Dark Princess", can steal Spectra, "the greatest diamond in all the universe", for herself, and tow it back to her world with her massive spaceship. The native Sprites of Spectra, enslaved by Glitterbots under the princess' control, are being forced to weave the net. Now Rainbow has to stop the princess' plan before all life on Earth is frozen solid by an endless winter."

 

[PopeReal]

I knew it.

 

[shandy706]

Brb, going to fly into Uranus.

 

[kyser73]

Half of the interest in private space flight right now is to get a chance to mine an asteroid for rare metals. You do that and you're the richest man alive.

Yeah, there are some interesting economics around space mining.

In that it doesn't (currently) stack up.

 

[Media]

This is not a good thing damn it. Don't go there NASA!

 

[Widdle Puppy]

Diamonds are actually worthless. The reason they cost so much is due to the De Beers diamond cartel artificially restricting supply.

https://youtu.be/N5kWu1ifBGU

Yup

They are such a scam and an industry built from colonialism.

 

[TakeItSlowDude]

Diamonds are actually worthless. The reason they cost so much is due to the De Beers diamond cartel artificially restricting supply.

https://youtu.be/N5kWu1ifBGU

Diamonds are overvalued, but are certainly not worthless. Synthetic diamonds still cost a lot to produce. If they were dirt cheap we would be using diamond substrates for semiconductors, diamond based heat sinks, and for plenty of other engineering applications.

 

[B-Dubs]

But are they jewelry grade?

DeBeers don't care, they'll market that shit as magic space diamonds or some crap like that.

So, who wants to bet on how fast they'll get their first rocket launch going?

 

[Owari]

Hopefully we can fly there and get some so the blood diamond trade stops.

 

[shira]

Could you imagine going there and sucking up a few hundred of those? You'll make some mad money with that.

But millenials don't buy diamonds

 

[Smiles and Cries]

De Beers buying SpaceX.

Yup, Earth diamonds would lose value these would be the new hot items to get

 

[low-G]

De Beers gonna buy up the planets.

Time to put those fuckers out of business. Where's my spaceship?

 

[Walker_Boh]

♫ ~"Diamonds from Uraaanusss.."~ ♫

Reminds me of The Beatles classic "Lucy in Uranus with diamonds".

 

[Slayven]

DeBeers don't care, they'll market that shit as magic space diamonds or some crap like that.

So, who wants to bet on how fast they'll get their first rocket launch going?

De Beers buying SpaceX.

Villain of the novel is Rolf van der Berg who trying to get a mountain size diamond that use to be part of Jupitur's core

 

[kikiribu]

Uranus and Neptune confirmed the most baller planets.

 

[Szu]

Diamonds from Uranus, that's some next level baller shit.

 

[Woorloog]

Villain of the novel is Rolf van der Berg who trying to get a mountain size diamond that use to be part of Jupitur's core

It has been quite some time since i read that book but... That name can't have been an accident by Clarke, can it? It is reasonably close to De Beers...

 

[Grym]

Solid? Meh...let me know when it rains liquid diamonds somewhere

 

[hairygreenpeas]

I'm disappointed by the lack of Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune in this thread.

 

[mclem]

"My Mum used to say the skies were made of diamonds"

 

[Woorloog]

Solid? Meh...let me know when it rains liquid diamonds somewhere

A gas giant with enough carbon might have make a liquid diamond layer possible, but not many other things. Mind you, there'd be no rain. But liquid diamond would be exceedingly impressive in its own right, as mere liquid carbon is very impressive.
Carbon cannot be actually melted in normal atmospheric pressure...

 

[Grym]

A gas giant with enough carbon might have make a liquid diamond layer possible, but not many other things. Mind you, there'd be no rain. But liquid diamond would be exceedingly impressive in its own right, as mere liquid carbon is very impressive.
Carbon cannot be actually melted in normal atmospheric pressure...

Huh...Well I learned something new today I just assumed liquid diamond was impossible when I posted that

 

[Kthulhu]

Diamonds are overvalued, but are certainly not worthless. Synthetic diamonds still cost a lot to produce. If they were dirt cheap we would be using diamond substrates for semiconductors, diamond based heat sinks, and for plenty of other engineering applications.

I meant in terms of cost. Not application.

 

[Woorloog]

Huh...Well I learned somwthing new today I just assumed liquid diamond was impossible when I posted that

I assumed so too... but some googling indicates it might be possible. That gas giant bit is my speculation, because there really ain't many places that might offer suitable pressure and enough carbon.

That said, carbon is not terribly common in gas giants...

 

[TheCochese]

She's cute
I'm drunk

Isn't this the plot of 2061?

 

[Slayven]

It has been quite some time since i read that book but... That name can't have been an accident by Clarke, can it? It is reasonably close to De Beers...

Not at all, a diamond cartel features prominently

 

[SparksterMeta0]

So what you're saying is that it's a...

 

[chefbags]

This is not a good thing damn it. Don't go there NASA!

Went into this thread looking for this. Glad someone posted it.

 

[Diancecht]

"It Rains Solid Diamonds on Uranus" is the name of my new indie-rock cover band.

 

[Andrin]

Uranus is a girl's best friend.

Uranus is so tight, if you left a lump of coal in there, in two weeks you have a diamond.

 

[greatestjediever]