@kalimov
2015-01-01T14:45:58.000000Z
字数 7006
阅读 1765
How to Make a Synthetic Diamond by mrcrumley
（译者按：过了新年，就快是情人节了。管它是黑色情人节、白色情人节，还是紫色、黄色、绿色、血色的，但凡有雌性动物陪伴的都只能有所表示了，不然即便结了婚的另一半很可能给你过孤单的情人节，她自己去过双人的，你懂的。依照本教程做出的东西，译者只有这几个字送给大家：希望越大，失望越大。它买的是附加意义，而非物质的量本身。当然，对学校内科普教育来说是最好不过的题材。）
原文出处：http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-a-Synthetic-Diamond/?ALLSTEPS
原作：Mr. Crumley
译者：Kalimov
Picture of How to Make a Synthetic Diamond
My 10-year Wedding Anniversary is coming up so I thought I'd make my wife something special. A few months back I'd seen a show on TV where they demonstrated how companies were now making "cultured" diamonds in the lab. There are a few different methods, but the simplest is something called "chemical vapor distillation". The process is pretty straightforward. Basically, microwaves are used to create a slurry of graphite plasma which, when rapidly cooled form a crystal structure.
我的十年锡婚将至，打算为老婆做点特别的东西。几个月前我在电视节目上看到那些公司战士如何在实验室“培养”钻石，有好几个不同的方法，但最简单的是某种叫做“化学蒸发精馏发”。它的过程很直观，基本来说，就是利用微波生成一坨石墨等离子电浆，然后迅速将其冷却成型为晶体结构。
I checked around on the internet and found several sites where others have been doing the same thing. The best part was that everything I'd need were pretty common household items. So, I rounded up the necessary supplies and began imagining how great life would be once I'd cornered the international diamond market.
在网上查找相关资料，找到几个正在做同样事情的网站。当中最好的内容是，我需要的原料是极其常见的家居用品。于是，我收集起需要的原料，开始想象我参与国际钻石市场后生活会变得如何美好。
Step 1: Materials
Picture of Materials
Here's the surprisingly short list of materials I used:
下面是出奇地短的材料列表：
A standard home microwave oven
2 coffee mugs
3 pieces of 3mm graphite pencil lead
A few drops of extra virgin olive oil
A 5" piece of 100% cotton thread
一台普通家用微波炉
两个咖啡杯
三条3毫米石墨铅笔芯
几滴纯正橄榄油
一条5"100%纯棉线
The hardest item to find was the 100% cotton thread. It's amazing how scarce that stuff is. After searching through all of our sewing notions, I finally found some black thread that I think my mom bought back in the 70's.
当中最难找到的是100%棉线，这玩意儿居然很稀少。在翻遍了家里缝纫针线材料后，最终我找到一些黑线，我想我妈是在上世纪70年代买来的。（译者注：国人上淘宝吧，要不然到超市买条纯棉白毛巾扯了。）
Step 2: Prepare the Olive Oil
Picture of Prepare the Olive Oil
As I mentioned above, the theory behind this project is using microwaves to heat the graphite into a plasma. In general, pencil graphite is not reactive enough to microwaves. So, a thin oil is used to concentrate the heat in a specific area of the graphite. Also, as the oil heats up and begins to burn, it chemically separates the binder in the pencil lead from the graphite.
之前提过的，这个制作背后的原理是利用微波加热石墨至等离子态。通常，铅笔石墨对微波不够敏感，所以，加一层薄薄的油膜，可以在石墨特定区域内集中热量。同时，当油加热后，开始燃烧时，在化学上它能拆散铅笔芯当中的石墨分子键。
Place a few drops of olive oil onto a plate and lay the thread in the oil. The thread will absorb some of the oil.
在盘子上放上几滴橄榄油，将线头埋在油里面，那么线头将吸收一些油份。
Step 3: Transfer Oil to the Graphite
Picture of Transfer Oil to the Graphite
Lift the oily thread and tie a knot in it.
将油腻的线头拿起，在中间打个结。
Don't pull the knot all-the-way closed!
不要将线结完全打死！
Carefully slip a piece of graphite through the knot loop and lay both the thread and graphite on a plate. I used two halves of a toothpick to keep the graphite suspended above the plate. This helps keep the oil confined to a single spot on the graphite.
小心在线结中插入一条石墨芯，将线和石墨都放在盘子上。我用两半截牙签将石墨架在盘子上，这样就有助于将油份限制在石墨上一小点的位置。
Pull both ends of the thread until the knot has closed around the graphite.
将线头两端拉紧，直到线结紧贴石墨。
Wait about 30 minutes for the oil to soak into the graphite.
等待大约30分钟，这样油份就能渗入石墨里。
Step 4: Setup (i.e. clean) the Microwave Oven
Picture of Setup (i.e. clean) the Microwave Oven
I didn't really tell my wife what I was up to. (It is, after all, a surprise.) But when she saw that it involved our microwave, her response was, "please don't burn the house down."
我没告诉老婆我真正的目的（那在完成之后回是个惊喜）。但她看到这个制作将动用到我们的微波炉，她的回应是，“别把房子烧了。”
I assured her it wouldn't, and that I'd need to clean the microwave before my "experiment." This ended her objections.
我向她包装这不会，而我需要在我的“实验”之前清理微波炉，这才堵住了她的反对。
So, while the oil was soaking into the graphite, I cleaned the microwave. The sites I'd read from others folks doing this insisted that a clean microwave would yield better results. Maybe, maybe not, but it sure looks better.
当油份正渗入石墨时，我就去清洁微波炉了。我之前看到其他人做这个实验的网站上，坚持认为一台干净的微波炉会产生更好的结果，也许会，也许不会，但清洁后确实看起来好多了。（译者注：要是我，会尝试做出让人觉得美好的东西其实是从鸡窝飞出来的感觉，在人们感觉自我良好时戳穿看看反应。）
Step 5: Remove the Thread
Picture of Remove the Thread
Clip off part of the thread as close to graphite as possible. Then, gently tug on the other end of the thread and pull the knot undone.
尽可能剪掉线头，离石墨越近越好。然后，轻拉另一端线头，把线结解掉。
Try not to slide the thread up-and-down the graphite. Remember, it's important to keep the oil concentrated in one spot.
尝试不要将线头沿着石墨上下搓动来解开。记住，重点是将油份集中在一点上。（译者注：就是利用棉线的毛细现象把油送到点上。）
Step 6: Set the Graphite on the "Crucible"
Picture of Set the Graphite on the "Crucible"
Here's the ingenious part of the project. Turn one of the coffee mugs upside-down. (I used a slightly larger one as the base.)
下面是整个制作最巧妙的部分。将一个咖啡杯翻转。（我用稍大的杯子作为底座。）
Set 2 more pieces of graphite (non-oiled) on the upturned mug, parallel to each other.
放多两条石墨（未浸油）在颠倒的杯底，之间互相平行。
Lay the oiled graphite across the other 2 pieces.
将浸油的石墨横跨放置在其他两条上。
Place the other coffee mug over all of it.
将另一个咖啡杯盖在上面。（也是颠倒的）
Presto! It's a makeshift crucible!
嘿！临时坩埚完成！
Step 7: Place "Crucible" in Microwave
Picture of Place "Crucible" in Microwave
Place the stacked mugs into the microwave. In my setup, the large bottom mug required that I remove the glass tray.
将叠好的杯子放到微波炉里。在我的准备当中，我将玻璃托盘拆掉以放入大的底座杯子。
Step 8: Start the Microwave
Picture of Start the Microwave
Set the microwave for its maximum cook time at the maximum power setting. In my case, that was 99 minutes and 99 seconds - which turned out to be long enough.
将微波炉设为最长时间，同时火力最大。我这里的是99分钟又99秒，足够长了。（译者注：好奇怪的设定，一般最后不是59秒么？）
Be advised: the microwave will spark a bit where the oil has soaked into the graphite. This is normal as the oil is bonding with the binder in the pencil lead. It should stop sparking after a few minutes.
注意：在油份浸润过的石墨部分，微波会产生一丝火花。这是正常现象，因为油份正和铅笔芯的分子键接合在一起，几分钟后应该就没有火花了。
After the microwave is done, let the mugs cool completely before removing them. Remember, if done correctly, you've generated 1,200+ degrees inside the crucible. Be safe.
在微波过程结束后，在拿下杯子前让它们完全冷却。如果正确操作的话，你在这坩埚内已生成超过1200度的高温。小心安全。
Step 9: Admire the Finished Product
Picture of Admire the Finished Product
After the mugs have completely cooled, remove them from the microwave.
在杯子完全冷却后，将它们拿出微波炉。
The oiled graphite will be broken. The others should largely be intact. You'll also find a small lump, slightly larger than a grain of sand where the oiled section was placed.
浸过又的石墨会碎开，其他部分大部分还是完好的。你会在浸油部分找到一些小小团块，比一粒沙子稍大些。
Congratulations! This is the product of your labors, a genuine diamond.
恭喜！这就是你的劳动成果，一颗真正的钻石。
I took the raw diamond to a jeweler I know and had her test it. She confirmed that underneath the scale material, there's a tiny bit of diamond material. She said that its quality was pretty poor, but it did fluoresce like a "real" diamond. 我将这钻石原石拿到我认识的珠宝商去做鉴定，她确认在原材料下面埋藏着很微小的钻石成分。她表示其质量着实低劣，但确实发出类似“真正”钻石的萤光。
Now, admittedly, this homemade synthetic diamond is too small and too filled with inclusions to make into jewelry. But, it technically qualifies as a diamond... and I made it, so that's pretty cool.
无可否认这颗自制合成钻石尺寸太小且杂质太多而无法成为首饰珠宝，但它在技术角度符合作为钻石的属性……重点是这是我做的，我可以任性。
Step 10: Make it into a Keepsake
Picture of Make it into a Keepsake
Obviously, this falls a bit short of what we think of when we hear "diamond". But, after posting the original article, I came up with a pretty cool way to preserve my achievement.
很明显这和我们经常听到的钻石产生的印象差距很大，不过在发了原创文稿后，我找到一种很不错的方法保存我的成果。
I filled a small washer with clear epoxy and dropped my diamond into it. After it hardened, I strung it on a chain to make a diamond necklace.
我在一个小垫片中倒入透明环氧树脂，将钻石丢进去。在它变硬后，我用链条串起它，做了个钻石项链。
My wife was impressed. After all, how many women can wear a diamond that their husband actually MADE?
老婆最后被感动了。问世间，为枕边人亲制钻石者几何，舍我其谁？
（译者后记：假设目标女神对此还无动于衷，甚至嗤之以鼻作为笑话，建议将此人打包送给土豪富二代之流，她们似乎都患了一种病，唯有黄金和白银才能将其治愈……暂时的。让她们吸干自己对头的钱财吧，对手变穷了就等于自己变富了……）