The discovery that he could make diamonds from Mexico's favourite tipple changed this physicist's life
Ever since our research was first published, people who hear about it for the first time just can't help laughing. Well, the fact is that most sane people would not dream of trying to turn cheap tequila into diamonds. In fact, at most of the scientific conferences I have attended, the first response to the reading of any paper on the topic is laughter, and a lot of it. But then the audience quietens down. There is no doubt that this research makes people laugh … and then think.
I had never heard of the Ig Nobel prizes until I was called and informed that I, together with the two other authors of the research, had been nominated. At the beginning of the conversation, I thought it was just an ingenious prank, but after hanging up, I checked the internet.
On the Ig Nobel prize site, I read the phrase 'Research that first makes people laugh, and then makes them think' and realised that the call was probably legit … sort of. As it turned out, the prize has given me an even greater opportunity to deliver a message to students. I usually tell them: 'Whoever thinks that science is a dry subject (pardon the pun) is wrong: science can be fun.' I go on to explain how Mexico's favourite alcoholic drink can be subjected to different pressures and heat treatments making it turn from liquid to gas, and finally to a solid, in the form of diamond micro-crystals.
I began experimenting about 14 years ago with synthetic diamonds (made by a technological process, as opposed to natural diamonds, produced by a geological process) from hydrocarbon gases such as methane as prime material. Hydrocarbon gases are formed basically by carbon and hydrogen atoms. Then, three years ago, we produced diamonds from liquid organic compounds like acetone, methanol and ethanol. Working with ethanol, I noticed that the ideal compound is about 40% ethanol and 60% water, and this composition is very similar to the proportion used in most tequilas.
So, one day I went to an off-licence off the campus and bought a bottle of cheap tequila. I used it under the same experimental conditions as for a test with ethanol and water, and obtained positive results.
Turning tequila into diamonds may sound funny, and inspire jokes about alchemists in modern labs, but the discovery could yield interesting results. The team is currently focused on improving the quality of the diamonds. Tequila contains about 150 different substances, most of which are formed during fermentation and distillation. These substances give the drink its typical flavour, aroma and taste.
As a result, the diamonds are almost unavoidably contaminated. To carry our investigation to a happy end, the deposited tequila diamonds must be free of any chemical contaminant that could obstruct its performance during specific applications. At the same time, one must not dismiss the possibility that some contaminant might just help to improve the diamond's performance for some application. But applications will only suggest themselves when the process yields a high-quality diamond film.
We can, however, anticipate that the first applications might appear in the electronic industry, where our tequila diamonds could be used as semiconductors, in, for example, the fabrication of high-power semiconductor devices, computer chips and optical devices.
If I hadn't bought that cheap tequila bottle to probe its performance as prime material in the production of synthetic diamonds, we probably would not know that tequila naturally has the perfect mix of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms to form diamonds.
Some members of the scientific community in Mexico and elsewhere believe that the kind of recognition afforded by the Ig Nobel prizes should not be bestowed on serious scientists, but my belief is that any important discovery or scientific achievement, whether it's funny or not, deserves recognition. The nine genuine Nobel laureates who presented the prize to us – such as Martin Chalfie, winner of the 2008 Nobel prize for chemistry, who doubled as the prize in the "Win a Date With a Nobel Laureate" contest – seemed to think so, too.
I've been asked many times whether I am going to be able to make enough diamonds to turn myself into a billionaire. Unfortunately, the answer is no, because the diamonds are so small – on average, a millionth of a millimetre – that they can be observed only by using an electronic microscope. That's not very practical for engagement rings, necklaces or tiaras.
But I have no doubt that, for years to come, these tequila-based diamonds will still be generating laughs, since, after all, tequila diamonds are forever, too.
• Dr Miguel Apátiga is a physicist at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México's Thin Film Laboratory for Applied Physics and Advanced Technology, in Juriquilla, Querétaro, México
This year's Ig Nobel prizes will take place at Harvard University on Thursday. The ceremony will be broadcast live at 12.30am GMT on Friday at http://www.youtube.com/improbableresearch
No comments:
Post a Comment