Scientists turn tequila into diamonds

Looks like tequila isn’t just for drinking anymore. Farmers in Mexico will be overjoyed to know that there is yet another reason to grow agave,…

Farmers in Mexico will be overjoyed to know that there is yet another reason to grow agave, the cactus-like plant used to produce the country’s most potent export. (Shutterstock)

Looks like tequila isn’t just for drinking anymore. Farmers in Mexico will be overjoyed to know that there is yet another reason to grow agave, the cactus-like plant used to produce the country’s most potent export.

Scientists have discovered a way to turn shots of tequila into diamonds, according to The Guardian.

SEE ALSO: Rare tequila cocktails + Cinco de Mayo = drink up!

Researchers at the National Autonomous University discovered this magnificent outcome when they experimented with making ultra-thin films of diamond from organic solutions, such as acetone and ethanol.

Looks like tequila isn’t just for drinking anymore.

Scientists have discovered a way to turn shots of tequila into diamonds. (Shutterstock)

The mix that worked best, 40% alcohol and 60% water, was similar to the proportions used in tequila.

The key to the surprising discovery is tequila’s ratio of hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon, which lies within the “diamond growth region.” The resulting diamond films could have inexpensive commercial applications as electrical insulators.

Looks like tequila isn’t just for drinking anymore.

Looks like tequila isn’t just for drinking anymore. (Shutterstock)

Diamond films are extremely durable and heat resistant and can be used to coat cutting tools. By carefully adding impurities to the films, it is also possible to make inexpensive commercial applications such as electronic insulators.

One of the members of the team that was working on the project, Luis Miguel Apátiga, brought a bottle of cheap white tequila into the lab to see if it could be turned into diamond.

When he heated a shot to 800C it vaporized and broke down into its atomic constituents, producing a fine layer of carbon on nearby metal trays.

Close examination of the films at high magnification revealed that the carbon had formed into crystal structures identical to diamond. Each was around one thousandth of a millimetre across.

“It’s true that the fact it’s tequila has a certain charm. It’s a Mexican product and Mexican researchers developed the project, but a businessman can say to me: ‘Great, how pretty! But how can I use it?’,” Apátiga said. “It would be very difficult to obtain diamonds for a ring.”

SEE ALSO: Tequila recipes to celebrate National Tequila Day

The researchers plan to make tequila-based diamonds on an industrial scale from 2011, a move that could see agave growing expand beyond the tequila market.

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