image: A cross section though a metallic inclusion, exposed by polishing down the surface of a diamond until it intersects the inclusion. This is a false-colored X-ray element map from a scanning electron microscope, showing the three main phases within a metallic inclusion. These solid phases were originally a molten metallic liquid mixture of iron-nickel-carbon-sulfur. The host diamond surrounding the inclusion appears as black. This material relates to a paper that appeared in the Dec. 16, 2016, issue of Science, published by AAAS. The paper, by E.M Smith at Gemological Institute of America in New York, N.Y., and colleagues was titled, "Large gem diamonds from metallic liquid in Earth's deep mantle." view more
Credit: Evan Smith