Science: Synthetic Stones

It takes Mother Nature some millions of years, by a combination of extreme heat and pressure to produce rocks, minerals and other hard things. Science is doing the same thing now in a few hours. Granite and jade have been made synthetically in a single working day at the geophysical laboratory of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, D. C. The substances known to be contained in the mineral desired are poured into a small platinum tube sealed with solid gold, which is placed in a “bomb” of the finest steel, along with a small electric furnace made of rubies. Heat up to 2,500° Fahrenheit, and pressure up to 200,000 Ibs. a square inch are applied gradually. Suddenly the pressure drops. When the container is opened, small quantities of rock or mineral are found.

What is more, the man-made products actually improve on those of Nature. They are completely free from impurities. Some seeming miracles have been accomplished under high pressure—water, though incompressible, can, under a pressure of 130,000 Ibs. to the square inch, be frozen into a cake of ice so dense that it sinks in water. Mercury can be frozen under a pressure of 170,000 Ibs. Water can be injected into rocks under the same conditions until they become soft and gelatinlike. All of these processes are at present prohibitively costly. A synthetic tombstone would cost a billion dollars. But with the established fact of artificial mineral manufacture, we may look for a cheapening of the process until it becomes of commercial importance.