How to distinguish between diamond and synthetic silicon carbide
Diamond is the hardest substance known to mankind. It is regarded as the highest symbol of love and is of great value. There are always some lawbreakers who try to make huge profits by using fakes. Synthetic silicon carbide, Moissanite, is emerging one after another, which is the latest diamond imitation. Let's take a look at how to distinguish between diamond and synthetic silicon carbide.
Synthetic silicon carbide is almost the same as diamond as a semiconductor material, its impurity content is extremely low, and its thermal conductivity is close to diamond. Due to the high hardness and high refractive index characteristics of synthetic silicon carbide, the surface reflection and gloss of the cut synthetic silicon carbide are very close to those of diamond. We can generally distinguish between diamond and synthetic silicon carbide by the following methods.
1. Use a 10x magnifying glass to observe.
1, faceted ridge
Although the hardness of synthetic silicon carbide is as high as 9.25, it is still far inferior to diamond, so the faceted ridges are still not as sharp as diamonds.
2, double shadow observation
Diamond has single refraction, while synthetic silicon carbide has double refraction, and the two values are very different, so it will produce double images, that is, the face ridge will become two images.
3, internal characteristics
Diamonds often contain horn-shaped minerals or cracks, while synthetic silicon carbide often contains needle-like features.
2. Detect with synthetic silicon carbide/diamond tester.
The relative transparency in the near ultraviolet region is measured by the tester. To near-ultraviolet light, the near-colorless diamond is transparent, while synthetic silicon carbide absorbs it.
