PRACTICA

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Diamonds Everything

Not only does the diamond trade control distribution, perpetuating the illusion of rarity to maintain their high price, and yet not only can we grow diamonds in a lab that are identical and superior to natural, geogenic diamonds; but humans themselves can actually become diamonds. Humans themselves can actually become diamonds. 

The "memorial diamond" refers to the use of a deceased person's body to create the carbon base for diamond formation, but there is nothing that says you can't do it while you're still alive.

Life Everlasting.

Memorial Diamond
Carbon can be obtained from cremated human or animal remains in a particulate or gaseous form. The carbon is then filtered using a conventional filtering technique. The carbon and other elements are then purified and graphitized, for example by a halogen purification technique.
[source] Method for making synthetic gems comprising elements recovered from complete or partial human or animal remains and the product thereof

Diamonds are Forever, and Ever, and Ever

POST SCRIPT
On Art and Human Self-Domestication
"One of the best ways for the boy to prove he has resources is to give the girl something that is both expensive and useless."
-The Art Instinct, Denis Dutton, 2009, p154

Our regard for something beautiful "is commonly, in great measure a gratification of our sense of costliness masquerading as beauty".
-Thorstein Beblin, Economist (found on p156 of Dutton 2009)

POST POST SCRIPT
Earth's gold came from colliding dead stars
phys.org - Jul 17, 2013

"We estimate that the amount of gold produced and ejected during the merger of the two neutron stars may be as large as 10 moon masses - quite a lot of bling!" says lead author Edo Berger of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA).

The team calculates that about one-hundredth of a solar mass of material was ejected by the gamma-ray burst, some of which was gold. By combining the estimated gold produced by a single short GRB with the number of such explosions that have occurred over the age of the universe, all the gold in the cosmos might have come from gamma-ray bursts.
Provided by Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics


Diamonds in the sky: Scientists find Jupiter and Saturn are awash in diamonds
Oct 09, 2013, phys.org

Recent work by planetary scientists has indicated that the deep atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn may contain chunks of diamond floating in a liquid hydrogen/helium fluid.

Crystal is 'oldest scrap of Earth crust'
24 February 2014
A tiny 4.4-billion-year-old crystal has been confirmed as the oldest fragment of Earth's crust.

'Diamane': Diamond film possible without the pressure
Feb 3, 2014

Perfect sheets of diamond a few atoms thick appear to be possible even without the big squeeze that makes natural gems.

Researchers at Rice University and in Russia have calculated a "phase diagram" for the creation of diamane. The diagram is a road map. It lays out the conditions – temperature, pressure and other factors – that would be necessary to turn stacked sheets of graphene into a flawless diamond lattice.

In the process, the researchers determined diamane could be made completely chemically, with no pressure at all, under some circumstances.

More information: Read the abstract
Provided by Rice University

Turning graphite into diamond
Mar 28, 2014

Hydrogenated Graphene = Diamonds
A research team led by SLAC scientists has uncovered a potential new route to produce thin diamond films for a variety of industrial applications, from cutting tools to electronic devices to electrochemical sensors.
The scientists added a few layers of graphene – one-atom thick sheets of graphite – to a metal support and exposed the topmost layer to hydrogen. To their surprise, the reaction at the surface set off a domino effect that altered the structure of all the graphene layers from graphite-like to diamond-like.

"hydrogenation of graphene could be a new route to synthesize ultrathin diamond-like films without applying pressure" -Kaya

The discovery was unexpected. The original goal of the experiment was to see if adding hydrogen could alter graphene's properties in a way that would make it useable in transistors, the fundamental building block of electronic devices. Instead, the scientists discovered that hydrogen binding resulted in the formation of chemical bonds between graphene and the platinum substrate.

More information: Srivats Rajasekaran, Frank Abild-Pedersen, Hirohito Ogasawara, Anders Nilsson, and Sarp Kaya. "Interlayer Carbon Bond Formation Induced by Hydrogen Adsorption in Few-Layer Supported Graphene" Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 085503 – Published 20 August 2013. 
Provided by SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Diamonds are a quantum computer's best friend
phys.org, August 2014

...nitrogen atoms which can occupy two different spin states are injected into a small diamond. Every nitrogen defect is trapped in an optical resonator made of two mirrors. Via glass fibres, photons are coupled to the quantum system consisting of the resonator, the diamond and the nitrogen atom. This way, it is possible to read and manipulate the state of the quantum system without destroying the quantum properties of the spins in the diamond.

[but later the article mentions the need for error correction codes, which requires billions of these diamonds - if I understand correctly.]

Scientists use 'smallest possible diamonds' to form ultra-thin nanothreads
phys.org, Dec 2014

["Super Diamonds"] 'Direct writing' of diamond patterns from graphite a potential technological leap
phys.org, Nov 2014

What began as research into a method to strengthen metals has led to the discovery of a new technique that uses a pulsing laser to create synthetic nanodiamond films and patterns from graphite, with potential applications from biosensors to computer chips.
"The biggest advantage is that you can selectively deposit nanodiamond on rigid surfaces without the high temperatures and pressures normally needed to produce synthetic diamond," said Gary Cheng, an associate professor of industrial engineering at Purdue University.

The technique works by using a multilayered film that includes a layer of graphite topped with a glass cover sheet. Exposing this layered structure to an ultrafast-pulsing laser instantly converts the graphite to an ionized plasma and creates a downward pressure. Then the graphite plasma quickly solidifies into diamond. The glass sheet confines the plasma to keep it from escaping, allowing it to form a nanodiamond coating.

"These are super-small diamonds and the coating is super-strong, so it could be used for high-temperature sensors," Cheng said.

Direct Laser Writing of Nanodiamond Films from Graphite under Ambient Conditions, Qiong Nian, Yuefeng Wang, Yingling Yang, Ji Li, Martin Y. Zhang, Jiayi Shao, Liang Tang & Gary J. Cheng, Scientific Reports, 2014. 

Inside Beijing's airpocalypse – a city made 'almost uninhabitable' by pollution
Oliver Wainwright, The Guardian, Dec 2014

His proposal, developed in partnership with scientists at the Technological University of Delft in the Netherlands, uses buried coils of copper to create an electrostatic field that attracts smog particles, creating a kind of halo of clean air above it. “It’s similar to how static electricity attracts your hair,” Roosegaarde says. “We charge the smog particles and suck them to the ground.”

He has also developed a mobile version which uses the same technology, but housed in a vertical totem-pole structure that sits atop a small temple-like pavilion, akin to those found in Beijing’s parks. It’s here where the real alchemy will happen. “We’re going to turn dust into diamonds,” Roosegaarde says. “We will condense a 1,000 cubic metres of smog down into a millimetre-cube carbon crystal – which we will set like a diamond on a ring.” When you buy a smog ring, he says, you’re effectively donating 1,000 cubic metres of clean air to the city.


“I like the idea that you can take a problem and turn it into something desirable,” Roosegaarde adds. “Of course it’s not a practical solution, but I’m hoping that smog jewellery will get people talking about the problem – and when they see these clear circles of blue sky above the parks, they’ll demand clean air for the whole city.”

Q-carbon is harder, brighter than diamonds
CNN, Dec 2015
Scientists have created a new form of solid carbon that probably otherwise does not exist on Earth.

Kay Jewelers accused of swapping diamonds with fakes
wreg, May 2016

[and sometimes you’re like what the fuck did i just read]

(Using DNA) Scientists guide gold nanoparticles to form 'diamond' superlattices

Feb 2016, phys.org

Meteorite diamonds 'came from lost planet'
Apr 2018, BBC

De Beers to sell synthetic diamonds—here's how they're made
Jun 2018, phys.org

Implanting diamonds with flaws offers key technology for quantum communications
July 2018, phys.org

In a first, scientists precisely measure how synthetic diamonds grow
Aug 2018, phys.org

Surprising hidden order unites prime numbers and crystal-like materialsSep 2018, phys.org

Socio-Thermodynamics

The dynamic of Spain's population follows the maximum entropy principle
phys.org March 11, 2013, clipped:

A team of Spanish and Argentinean researchers have verified that the distribution of the inhabitants in each Spanish province evolves in accordance with the maximum entropy principle in the field of physics. Therefore, this evolution is predictable. The results have allowed authors to put forward a 'socio-thermodynamic' theory that applies the laws of thermodynamics to collective human behaviour.

 "We have verified that given province characteristics, which we specify as a value named 'q', population distribution over time does not arise by chance but rather by a certain way that adjusts to the maximum entropy principle," as explained to SINC by Alberto Hernando, researcher of the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne (Switzerland) and co-author of the study.

Along with other colleagues from the University of Granada, the Institute of Interdisciplinary Physics and Complex Systems (CSIC-University of the Balearic Islands) and the National University of La Plata in Argentina have employed these results to formulate a theory called 'socio-thermodynamics', which is similar to thermodynamics used to describe the equilibrium state of gases, solids and liquids. The maximum entropy principle is a formulation of the second thermodynamics principle that states that the entropy quantity of the universe tends to increase over time. In other words, a state with a certain order always leans towards a state with less order and the inverse process to this is impossible on a spontaneous level. According to the researchers, its application to human society can help us to understand how social order always tends to deteriorate if active attempts are not made to avoid such an occurrence. "This without a doubt gives rise to many speculations and interpretations but only one single investigation based on observations and objective data can give us a clear answer," concludes the researcher.

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-03/12/spanish-entropy

More information: A. Hernando, R. Hernando, A. Plastino, A. R. Plastino. "The workings of the maximum entropy principle in collective human behavior". Journal of the Royal Society Interface 10: 20120758, 2013. Doi:10.1098/rsif.2012.0758 Journal reference: Journal of the Royal Society Interface Provided by Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) 
http://phys.org/news/2013-03-dynamic-spain-population-maximum-entropy.html


Post-Script:
Researchers show that time perception in animals depends on their pace of life
http://m.phys.org/news/2013-09-perception-animals-pace-life.html

Mimetic Desire

The object only has value according to how much it is desired by another...mimetic desire

We borrow our desires from others. Far from being autonomous, our desire for a certain object is always provoked by the desire of another person — the model — for this same object.

All desire is a desire to be [someone else]

1994. Quand ces choses commenceront ... Entretiens avec Michel Treguer. Paris: arléa. ISBN 2-86959-300-7. p28
Rene Girard

Post Script:

Peer pressure's influence calculated by mathematician
phys.org, Oct 09, 2013

Professor Ernesto Estrada, of the University of Strathclyde's Department of Mathematics and Statistics, examined the effect of direct and indirect social influences – otherwise known as peer pressure – on how decisions are reached on important issues. Using mathematical models, he analysed data taken from 15 networks – including US school superintendents and Brazilian farmers – to outline peer pressure's crucial role in society.

How Peer Pressure Shapes Consensus, Leadership, and Innovations in Social Groups
link, Provided by University of Strathclyde, Glasgow

the process begins when individuals directly connected to each other first reach agreement, then – under the influence of peers not directly connected to them – the entire social group eventually tips into a collective consensus. He said: "Consider a teenager who is pressed by her friends into binge-drinking on a Saturday night – this corresponds to the direct pressure exerted by the peers connected to that individual.

"However, she is also under indirect pressure, by seeing that many teenagers are doing the same every Saturday. Thus, this indirect pressure could make the difference in that individual to copy a given attitude."

In social groups in which indirect peer pressure is largely absent, the extent to which its leaders share the same views plays a critical role in the length of time it takes to reach agreement on issues. However, when there is strong indirect peer pressure, the role of the local leaders vanishes and individuals with no important positions in their networks can become the leaders of the group.

Mind Hacks

The guy on the right magically removes a red wallet with one hand, while distracting his subject with the other
[source] National Geographic Test your Brain
[via] Moving Through the Waters of Human Attention

Pay Attention

There is a simple distinction between 'active' attention via the prefrontal cortex, and 'passive' attention in the sensory cortices; humans are so easily tricked...

On Time and Humans

Shinichi Maruyama, Nude #1, 2012

http://www.shinichimaruyama.com/

"The light of stars requires time; deeds, though done, still require time to be seen and heard. This deed is still more distant from them than most distant stars - and yet they have done it themselves." Friedrich "The Madman" Nietzsche

Value In-Transigence: Value In Transit

Now you see it; Now you don't

Ring of Bitcoins: Why Your Digital Wallet Belongs On Your Finger
Robert McMillan, Wired, 03.18.13

"physical Bitcoins — metal coins engraved with hidden, tamper-protected private keys that could be exchanged much like money."

-people trade the password used to get the money, not the money itself

"You see, Shrem — like many other Bitcoin traders — doesn’t trust digital copies of this most digital of currencies. “Even if all of your assets are in Bitcoins, you have to diversify them,” he says. “Twenty percent you should keep on your computer. The rest should be kept in cold storage.”

"Cold storage can mean an encrypted USB drive, a computer that is not connected to the internet, a piece of paper, or some other physical medium. Shrem puts his on a ring, but other Bitcoiners are using paper — or even physical coins."

"You can write your own key on piece of paper. Or engrave it on a ring. But you might lose your piece paper. Someone might take your ring. There’s always a security hole. The trick is to make it as small as possible."

---money is turned into information, literally, because the only actual value of the coin is not in its material worth, but in the password that is engraved into it. Just wait until we start using living organisms to hold encrypted data (remember the recent report on using DNA to store data?).


Musicians accused of 'buying virtual fans' on YouTube
Newsbeat reporters Chi Chi Izundu and Declan Harvey, BBC
18 March 2013

Facebook told Newsbeat that gaining "likes" from people who aren't interested in that page is "no good to anyone".

---but I wonder, can we distinctly articulate the difference between a like-seeker paying for likes versus the old-school style of subversive advertising, aggresive advertising, demographic targeting, (aka psychological manipulation)

In a world where attention itself has been shaken and shattered, it's only right that the old-school should have to now pay us for it.