Editing Diamond (section)

== Etymology, earliest use and composition discovery ==
The name ''diamond'' is derived from {{langx|grc|ἀδάμας}} (''adámas''), 'proper, unalterable, unbreakable, untamed', from [[:wiktionary:ἀ-|ἀ-]] (''a-''), 'not' + {{langx|grc|δαμάω}} (''damáō''), 'to overpower, tame'.<ref>{{cite web |vauthors=Liddell HG, Scott R |title=Adamas |work=A Greek-English Lexicon |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%231145 |publisher=[[Perseus Project]] |access-date=February 20, 2021 |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109174330/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/invalidquery.jsp?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=entry=#1145 |url-status=live }}</ref> Diamonds are thought to have been first recognized and mined in [[India]], where significant [[alluvial deposit]]s of the stone could be found many centuries ago along the rivers [[Penner River|Penner]], [[Krishna River|Krishna]], and [[Godavari River|Godavari]]. Diamonds have been known in India for at least 3,000{{nbsp}}years but most likely 6,000{{nbsp}}years.<ref name=hershey>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=35eij1e1al8C&pg=PA23 |vauthors=Hershey W |title=The Book of Diamonds |publisher=Hearthside Press |location=New York |year=1940 |pages=22–28 |isbn=978-1-4179-7715-4 |access-date=November 9, 2020 |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109174422/https://books.google.com/books?id=35eij1e1al8C&pg=PA23 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Diamonds have been treasured as gemstones since their use as [[icon|religious icons]] in [[Kingdoms of Ancient India|ancient India]]. Their usage in engraving tools also dates to early [[human history]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Pliny the Elder|author-link=Pliny the Elder|title=Natural History: A Selection|publisher=[[Penguin Books]]|page=371|year=2004|isbn=978-0-14-044413-1}}</ref><ref name=ancient_China>{{cite news|title=Chinese made first use of diamond|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4555235.stm|work=BBC News|date=May 17, 2005|access-date=March 21, 2007|archive-date=March 20, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070320064349/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4555235.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> The popularity of diamonds has risen since the 19th century because of increased supply, improved cutting and polishing techniques, growth in the world economy, and innovative and successful advertising campaigns.<ref name=sell>{{cite web|vauthors=Epstein EJ|title=Have You Ever Tried To Sell a Diamond?|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/issues/82feb/8202diamond1.htm|work=[[The Atlantic]]|year=1982|access-date=May 5, 2009|archive-date=May 17, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517125715/http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/82feb/8202diamond1.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1772, the French scientist [[Antoine Lavoisier]] used a lens to concentrate the rays of the sun on a diamond in an atmosphere of [[oxygen]], and showed that the only product of the combustion was [[carbon dioxide]], proving that diamond is composed of carbon.<ref>See: {{unbulleted list citebundle
|1 = {{Citation |vauthors=Lavoisier A |orig-date=1772 (part 2) |date=October 15, 2007 |title=Premier mémoire sur la destruction du diamant par le feu |trans-title=First memoir on the destruction of diamond by fire |work=Histoire de l'Académie royale des sciences, avec les Mémoires de Mathématique & de Physique, tirés des registres de cette Académie |trans-journal=History of the Royal Academy of Sciences, with the Memoirs of Mathematics & Physics, drawn from the records of this academy] |location=Gallica |publisher=Académie des sciences |pages=564–591 |language=fr |issn=1967-4783 |id=ark:/12148/bpt6k35711 |url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k35711/f739.image |access-date=July 1, 2022 |archive-date=May 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509130518/https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k35711/f739.image |url-status=live }}
|2 = {{Citation |vauthors=Lavoisier A |orig-date=1772 (part 2) |date=October 15, 2007 |title=Second mémoire sur la destruction du diamant par le feu |trans-title=Second memoir on the destruction of diamond by fire |work=Histoire de l'Académie royale des sciences, avec les Mémoires de Mathématique & de Physique, tirés des registres de cette Académie |location=Gallica |publisher=Académie des sciences |pages=591–616 |language=fr |issn=1967-4783 |id=ark:/12148/bpt6k35711 |url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k35711/f766.image |access-date=July 1, 2022 |archive-date=July 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220710231047/https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k35711/f766.image |url-status=live }} <!-- catalog-url=http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb32786820s --> 
}}</ref> Later, in 1797, the English chemist [[Smithson Tennant]] repeated and expanded that experiment.<ref>{{Cite journal |vauthors=Smithson T |orig-date=December 15, 1797 |title=On the nature of the diamond |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London |year=1797 |volume=87 |pages=123–127 |doi=10.1098/rstl.1797.0005 |s2cid=186213726 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vlBFAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA123 |access-date=July 1, 2022 |doi-access=free |archive-date=February 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230219072828/https://books.google.com/books?id=vlBFAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA123 |url-status=live }}</ref> By demonstrating that burning diamond and graphite releases the same amount of gas, he established the chemical equivalence of these substances.<ref name=hazen/>