When Mao Heguang was seven years old, he went to Taiwan with his family. In 1959, he entered the Department of Geology of National Taiwan University and obtained his bachelor's degree in 1963. In 1964, he went to the Graduate School of the University of Rozest in the United States to become a graduate student of Bassett and Takahashi. At that time, his two mentors were planning to transplant the diamond window pressure chamber just invented by the American National Bureau of Standards, Walgenburger and others, and establish a laboratory to study the properties of minerals under high temperature and pressure. Mao Heguang was very interested in this new technology and immediately showed his excellent work ability, which greatly appreciated his mentor.
First he accepted the task of further measuring the compression of iron and iron-nickel alloys. He worked methodically and silently, and discovered that the previous work of his mentors was wrong. He corrected this error and continued to extend the measurement range to higher pressures and to other components. This allowed him to quickly obtain a master's degree in 2001 and complete two important works, discussing what properties the earth's core can be expected to have if the earth's core is mainly composed of iron alloys. He then began working on his Ph.D. His research topic is the measurement of the compressibility coefficient of a-phase olivine. He set a record of completing an important work in a very short time and submitted a paper that provided valuable information for building a series of geoslow models. At the same time, his supervisors were very interested, not only because it was a good pressure internal standard, but also because it had been reported to undergo phase changes at very low pressures of one kilogram. So they searched hard for evidence of phase transitions in this pressure range, but found nothing. When they were almost publishing this negative result, Mao Heguang noticed that some extra lines appeared on the X-ray diffraction pictures of some samples in experiments using pressure internal standards. He measured these lines and found that they were high-pressure phases. But this phase change does not occur within 1,000 bar, but close to 1,000 bar. At the time this pressure was one of the highest achieved in a static high-pressure installation. Mao Heguang, who experimented with a patented method of "rapidly growing diamonds" using high pressure, publicly announced a ten-carat diamond in Japan and the United States in May, shocking the academic and jewelry circles.
In the past, expensive diamonds that were said to take millions of years to crystallize were always accompanied by beautiful and romantic legends. Colored diamonds were even described as stars falling into the mortal world accompanied by rainbows. However, Mao Heguang said in a somewhat shocking way: "Diamonds can be made from cow dung." This subverted ordinary people's values ????on diamonds. Mao Heguang predicted: "The 21st century is the age of diamonds! The most important invention in the 20th century is the computer, and the most important invention in the 21st century is the diamond that grows up! One day, cheap and high-quality diamonds will replace the role of silicon in semiconductors. , Silicon Valley will become Diamond Valley, which will bring human technology into another world."
Like the ancient magicians who turned stone into gold, they started a trend when they publicly published their research on CVD diamonds and applied for a patent three years ago. , hundreds of laboratories around the world swarmed into the research and development of this kind of CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition chemical meteorological precipitation) diamond, but because they were unable to break through the diamond growth speed, they later withdrew. Mao Heguang and others spent millions of dollars on continuous experiments. Finally discovered the secret recipe for diamonds to grow rapidly. In May this year, they first announced a ten-carat, transparent and colorless CVD diamond at the 10th International New Diamond Technology Conference held in Japan. Then, under the title Very Large Diamonds Produced Very Fast, they launched the It was announced at the Practical Diamond Conference in the United States and was immediately reported by the media. Because diamonds grown by CVD methods in the past were generally brown and yellow, they could not be made into high-end jewelry, and it was difficult to make three carats, but they made a breakthrough. A ten-carat colorless transparent diamond is equivalent to a great leap forward in CVD diamonds.
In September, his student Dr. Yan Zhixue from Taiwan took a two-carat diamond to an expert with GIA Gemological Institute of America jewelry appraisal qualification in Washington. The expert studied for a long time and curiously asked him what the diamond was. Where did it come from? Because it had a rare pink sparkle and the way it was cut was very special. The expert conservatively estimated, "It should cost 200,000 US dollars!" Yan Zhixue proudly told him that it was a CVD diamond. The expert who had broken his glasses was speechless and quickly asked them about the approximate cost. He casually replied: "About five thousand US dollars!" The expert couldn't hide his excitement. He was holding the tweezers to observe the diamond, but his hands began to tremble violently. Can't hold the tweezers.
In fact, the direct cost of this diamond is less than US$5,000. In addition to using a natural loose diamond with good color and a thickness of 5 mm as the mother stone, they use high-purity methane (can be made from cow dung or Biogas generated from garbage, etc.), plus the assistance of hydrogen, nitrogen and other gases, are used in a microwave oven at high pressure to continuously accumulate carbon molecules like diamonds in the methane onto the rough diamonds, and the diamonds will grow layer by layer, growing taller and thicker. .
This two-carat pink diamond was "grown" after a week. After cutting it with laser light in the laboratory, they spent another hundred dollars and asked the master to use a basic Brilliant cut to turn it into a diamond. A basic diamond with round top and pointed bottom.
The quality of this "grown" diamond is almost the same as that of natural diamonds and is difficult to distinguish with the naked eye, which shocked the jewelry industry. GIA, a world-renowned gem grading and identification organization, is very interested in this. Engineers from its research department have repeatedly contacted them, hoping to understand the characteristics and identification methods of this kind of diamond.
Even Post, director of the mineral department of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, which collects the most famous Winston blue diamond, the Hope Diamond, was curious after hearing the news and went to their laboratory to give a lecture.
Currently, many internationally renowned diamond manufacturers are negotiating with them on how to invest in mass production. Once invested in mass production, it will completely change everyone's values ????on diamonds and impact the entire diamond market. But Mao Heguang said: "Jewelry is actually the most worthless part of diamonds. It is just a flashy decoration. The price of diamonds is artificially hyped. In my opinion, diamonds should not be so expensive. After mass production, diamonds can be more expensive." It is affordable and has more diverse functions. In addition to having the highest hardness, diamond is also a good thermal conductor and a cutting and grinding tool. It can be used in medical and electronic components in the future. " He emphasized that diamond is a thousand times better than silicon. times, it can replace silicon's role in semiconductors in the future. "Silicon will become a dinosaur (historical term) by then."
Although engineers from domestic semiconductor companies still find this statement "unbelievable, how can it be possible to use expensive diamonds to replace silicon?" But after mass production of diamonds, they have become affordable. Who says it will be impossible in the future? ? The evolution of science is not due to many great dreams! Mao Heguang and his research partner Hemley recently won the Baren Prize ( Balzan Prize) and received a prize of one million Swiss francs (approximately NT$26,240,000).
The Baren Prize was established by the Italian journalist Baren’s family. Twenty European scientists and scholars are responsible for selecting and awarding awards every year. Previous winners include: the Nobel Foundation, the late Pope John XIII, Mother Teresa, Li Wenxiong, academician of the Biology Group of Academia Sinica, Taiwan. Mao Heguang also won two international awards, the Gregori Aminoff Prize of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Roebling Medal of the American Mineralogical Society, for his achievements in mineral science. He is also the first recipient of these two awards. A prize-winning Chinese.
Mao Heguang is currently the head of the Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution of the United States. In order to understand how various materials will change under different high pressures, he used the hardest diamond to make an anvil with a needle tip only a few tenths of a millimeter ( Because the smaller the contact area, the greater the pressure. For example, stepping on a person with the heel of a high-heeled shoe is more painful than stepping on a person with the heel of a leather shoe. Sub-beam and other various methods to observe the changes of the substance under test.
Mao Heguang has been able to achieve a pressure of three million atmospheres (one atmosphere on the surface, eleven atmospheres on the seabed 100 meters deep), which is equivalent to a pressure of 5,000 kilometers underground. He discovered that various All substances (including gases) can be pressed into solids under this pressure; even non-metallic sulfur, which cannot conduct electricity, can be turned into metal, and when pressed again, it can become a resistanceless superconductor.
Mao Heguang's research team has also developed a method for making diamonds. He said that diamonds are formed from carbon elements under ultra-high pressure underground. High-pressure methods can be used to accumulate carbon molecules like diamonds in high-purity methane into the original state. On diamonds, let diamonds grow. He believes that these artificial diamonds may replace silicon in the semiconductor industry in the future, making smaller, faster, more power-saving, and more heat-resistant chips, and shrinking computer hosts hundreds of times.
Mao Heguang has recently entered the field of energy and life science research. Hydrogen will turn into water when burned, which is a completely pollution-free fuel. However, in order for hydrogen to become liquid, it must be heated to minus 253 degrees Celsius. , difficult to carry. Mao Heguang's research found that under two thousand atmospheric pressure, water and hydrogen can be combined into "hydrates". If some special substances are added, the decomposition temperature of this hydrate can be increased to five degrees Celsius. In the future, just use a refrigerator It is portable, which will be a great boon to the energy shortage crisis.