Daily Pioneer News

PLATTEVILLE - Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville are involved in a project that might help the scientific community better understand the origins of color in diamonds.

UW-Platteville chemistry professor Jim Hamilton aims to determine why different diamonds give off different colors of light after absorbing radiant energy, a process known as phosphorescence. The research being performed with Jeffrey Post, a 1976 UWP chemistry alumnus who currently serves as curator of the National Gem and Mineral Collection at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. The Smithsonian will provide the diamonds for the study. "After exposure to ultraviolet light, diamonds give off all the colors of the rainbow. Some glow red, some glow blue," Hamilton said. "The end goal of the research is to develop a periodic table of diamond luminescence." "We've always been curious about learning more about what are the causes of this phosphorescence in diamonds. There seems to be no way, in visible light, to tell which color the diamond will phosphoresce," Post said.

Specialized laser and optical devices in UW-Platteville chemistry laboratories will be used to measure the wavelength of light emitted from diamonds after absorbing radiant energy. UWP students enrolled in physical chemistry courses will use sensitive equipment that can measure emissions of light as short as two nanoseconds. The computerized technology can detect visible light as well as ultraviolet and infrared light that can't be seen with the human eye.

The study is beginning with small diamonds from the Smithsonian collection. The partnership that is making this project possible was forged this past fall when Post returned to UWP for a chemistry reunion. UW-Platteville was an attractive partner in this diamond research for several reasons. "It was a combination of Jim's expertise, the fact that he had some instrumentation there and the interest of students," Post said. "If we can learn what we're hoping to learn from the smaller stones, if we develop what is the right technique, we might be able to bring the instrumentation here and be able to study some larger diamonds."

The project is bolstered by a grant award from the UWP Foundation Opportunity Fund. Since its inception in 1988, the fund has awarded a total of $525,000 through 130 grants, and this year the opportunity fund offered $75,000 through 27 grant awards in support of UW-Platteville activities.

Contact: Jim Hamilton, UWP professor of chemistry, 608-342-1670, hamiltoj@uwplatt.edu Prepared by: Dan Lehnherr, UWP Public Relations, 608-342-1194, lehnherd@uwplatt.edu