Interstellar Dust and Diamonds

NONE of the classical models for the interstellar dust grains fit in with all the modern observations. Pure graphite particles produce insufficient extinction in the far ultraviolet 1 . The strong absorption band in the infrared predicted for ice or ice-coated graphite particles is not observed 2 ....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 1969-01, Vol.221 (5176), p.160-162
Main Authors: SASLAW, WILLIAM C., GAUSTAD, JOHN E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Humanities and Social Sciences
letter
multidisciplinary
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
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Summary:NONE of the classical models for the interstellar dust grains fit in with all the modern observations. Pure graphite particles produce insufficient extinction in the far ultraviolet 1 . The strong absorption band in the infrared predicted for ice or ice-coated graphite particles is not observed 2 . Neither type of particle has the combined properties of high albedo and nearly isotropic phase function needed to fit the observations of the diffuse galactic radiation 3 . These difficulties would be eliminated if the dust grains contain an abundant element in an allotropic form not considered previously: carbon in the form of diamond.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/221160b0