--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Maw, Charles E. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 10 number: 2 published: 1906-12 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Charles E. Maw, "Artificial Diamonds in America," *Improvement Era* 10, no. 2 (December 1906): 113–114.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1002unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera1002unse start_page: 113 end_page: 114 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1906-12) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1002unse publication_year: 1906 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1906, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Artificial Diamonds in America Artificial Diamonds in America. Henry W. Fisher, of New York, has succeeded in making diamonds so much larger than any hitherto made, that there seems to be a possibility of making gems large enough to have commercial value. Fisher's method is essentially the same as that used by Henry Moissan, the French chemist, who first made artificial diamonds six- teen years ago by means of the electric furnace. This furnace is very simple. It consists of two bricks of quicklime placed one upon the other and grooved to receive two carbon electrodes. A cavity is made in the bricks between the carbon terminals to re- ceive the material to be melted. The high temperature of the arc, — . — — ! 1 14 IMPRO VEMENT ERA t i.e., the space between the carbon ends, is unequalled by any other source of artificial heat. A temperature of about 3500 C. can be produced. Moissan dissolved graphite in molten iron by placing a mixture of the two in the electric furnace. He plunged the heated mass suddenly into cold water. This quickly cooled the exterior and placed the heated interior under great pressure because iron saturated with carbon expands on cooling. The crystals produced in this way are still too small to have value as gems. When they can be made sufficiently large for this purpose, there will be a far lower value placed on them than at present quoted by the diamond trust. Charles E. Maw, B. S. Provo, Utah. CHRISTMAS JOY. Look up, faint not, though dark may be the way! While sweating drops of blood, Christ bore our sin, That he might take away our weight of guilt, And pardon grant to all who come to him Christmas joy, that Jesus came to save Declare the truth to earth's remotest bound While time shall last, eternity endure, 'Twill be to human ears the sweetest sound. Lydia D. Alder. Salt Lake City, Utah.