Diamonds

"Diamonds" by Sir William Crookes is a scientific publication written in the early 20th century. The work explores the geology, formation, and industrial significance of diamonds, primarily focusing on details surrounding the diamond mining industry in South Africa. Crookes imbues the text with personal observations from his visits to Kimberley, adding an experiential layer that enhances the scientific discussion. At the start of the book, the author outlines the pervasive fascination that diamonds have held throughout history, highlighting their exceptional properties and the mysteries surrounding their formation. Crookes discusses his visits to Kimberley in 1896 and 1905, where he gained unprecedented access to the mines, laboratories, and surrounding geological formations. Drawing upon statistical data, personal anecdotes, and the rich historical context of diamond mining, he sets the stage for a deeper exploration of how diamonds are formed, extracted, and valued, alongside the labor-intensive processes that bring these precious stones to the surface. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Sir William Crookes was a British chemist and physicist who attended the Royal College of Chemistry, now part of Imperial College London, and worked on spectroscopy. He was a pioneer of vacuum tubes, inventing the Crookes tube which was made in 1875. This was a foundational discovery that eventually changed the whole of chemistry and physics.