Colombia: Treasure Galleon

Originally reported by the BBC:
The wreck of a Spanish ship laden with treasure that was sunk by the British more than 300 years ago has been found off the Colombian coast, says President Juan Manuel Santos.
"Great news! We have found the San Jose galleon," the president tweeted.
The wreck was discovered near the port city of Cartagena.
It has been described as the holy grail of shipwrecks, as the ship was carrying one of the largest amounts of valuables ever to have been lost at sea.
Mr Santos said the cargo was worth at least $1bn (£662m).
The San Jose was carrying gold, silver, gems and jewellery collected in the South American colonies to be shipped to Spain's king to help finance his war of succession against the British when it was sunk in June 1708.
The vessel was attacked by a British warship just outside Cartagena.
Colombian officials would not reveal the precise location of the wreck, but Mr Santos said the find "constitutes one of the greatest - if not the biggest, as some say - discoveries of submerged patrimony in the history of mankind".
He said that a museum would be built in Cartagena to house the ship's treasures. 
Ownership of the wreck has been the subject of a long-running legal row.
The Colombian government did not mention its long-running quarrel with US-based salvage company Sea Search Armada (SSA) over claims to the treasure.
A group now owned by SSA said in 1981 that it had located the area in which the ship sank.
SSA has been claiming billions of dollars for breach of contract from the Colombian government, but in 2011 an American court ruled that the galleon was the property of the Colombian state.

Spanish Claims on the Ship

The Spanish government says it has rights to a sunken Spanish galleon discovered in Colombian waters.
The foreign minister says he is asking for more information about the galleon, the San Jose, found after decades of searching.
The galleon, which was sunk in 1708, belonged to Philip V of Spain. Its discovery was announced on Saturday.
The ship was attacked by the British navy as it set sail for Spain laden, it is believed, with treasure.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Garcia-Margallo said Spain wanted an amicable agreement with Colombia over the ship and its contents.
But he said Spain would be prepared to defend its interests at the UN if necessary.
The minister said that there was a UNESCO convention that stipulated that this type of wreck "belonged to the state, was the result of war, and was not a private boat".
"This can be resolved in a friendly way," Mr Garcia-Margallo said.
"They will understand our demands and that we are defending our interests just as we understand their demands and that they are defending their interests."
In 2013 Colombia approved a law to define sunken ships found in its water as national heritage.
Colombia estimates there are up to 1,200 such wrecks in its waters.
President Juan Manuel Santos said the cargo of the San Jose could be worth at least $1bn (£662m)
It has been described as the holy grail of shipwrecks, as the vessel was said to be carrying one of the largest amounts of valuables ever to have been lost at sea - gold, silver, gems and jewellery collected in the South American colonies to finance the Spanish king's war effort.

Original Articles: Colombia says treasure-laden San Jose galleon found, Spain says it has rights to Colombian treasure ship BBC

Harder than diamond

New Substance Is Harder Than Diamond, Scientists Say
By JONAH BROMWICHDEC. 3, 2015

A microscopic view of tiny diamonds made with the new technique. Credit Jagdish Narayan and Anagh Bhaumik

Researchers at North Carolina State University say they have developed a technique for creating a substance they are calling Q-carbon, which represents a third phase, or distinct form, of carbon alongside graphite and diamond.

The discovery could have many applications, notably in the fields of medicine and industry. But Jay Narayan, the lead scientist on the study, has made one claim about the technique that is certain to turn heads.

“In 15 minutes, we can make a carat of diamonds,” Mr. Narayan said. A carat is 200 milligrams.

The process of creating Q-carbon — which involves concentrating a very short pulse of laser light onto carbon — can produce minuscule synthetic diamond “seeds,” which can yield gems.

Diamonds that have been “grown” by depositing successive layers of carbon atoms on the surface of a thin slice of a natural diamond in an intense plasma field.Borrowing From Solar and Chip Tech to Make Diamonds Faster and CheaperNOV. 11, 2015
While the amount of diamond is tiny compared with the yield of traditional industrial techniques, the process can be carried out at room temperature and air pressure, the researchers say, meaning it could be easier to reproduce on a large scale than other methods, including one that has been drawing interest in Silicon Valley known as chemical vapor deposition.

The technique used to create Q-carbon, which was pioneered over the summer, was described on Monday in the Journal of Applied Physics. A tiny laser beam is trained onto a piece of amorphous carbon for 200 nanoseconds, heating it extremely fast. The spot then cools in a process known as quenching, creating Q-carbon.

It isn’t known whether the substance exists in the natural world, but Mr. Narayan suggested it could be present in the cores of planets.

Wuyi Wang, the director of research and development at the Gemological Institute of America and an expert on diamond geochemistry, said that while he would like to confirm the findings himself, “if they are true, it will be very exciting news for the diamond research community.”

He added that the journal is “quite credible” and he “pretty much trusts what they say.”

André Anders, the editor in chief of the journal, echoed Mr. Wang’s excitement, as well as his note of caution.

“This is one of those ‘wow’ papers,” he said. “I put a sticky note on the manuscript that said ‘pay attention to this one’ before the peer review even happened. But the second thought I have, and this is the scientist in me, is that I’m always skeptical.”

Mr. Narayan described possible uses for Q-carbon in creating synthetic body parts, improving tools like deep-water drills, and producing brighter, longer lasting screens for televisions and cellphones.

Casey Boutwell, who works on commercial licensing for scientific discoveries at the university’s office of technology transfer, said he was bracing for strong interest in the technique. “We don’t know exactly how this can be best applied, and we’re excited to get the market’s input,” he said.

Neil Krishnan, the director of technology platforms at the Swedish industrial toolmaker Sandvik Hyperion, called Mr. Narayan’s discovery “extremely interesting.”

“I still think it’s at a nascent stage for us to consider it a competitive threat per se,” he said. “But it would definitely be a new technology that we’d be interested in.”

A microscopic view of tiny diamonds made with the new technique. Credit Jagdish Narayan and Anagh Bhaumik
But Mr. Narayan and his colleagues say the potential for creating synthetic gemstones pales next to possible applications of Q-carbon, which the researchers said is magnetic, fluorescent and electroconductive.

Original Article