What is the technical term for the process that minerals go through to become diamonds?
nucleation: 1) “So the procedure of diamond formation may be divided into three stages, namely nucleation and growth in the early stage, growth in the middle stage and in the late stage. In the early and late stages nitrogen and hydrogen are consumed in the environment of diamond formation. In the middle stage nitrogen and hydrogen must be replenished for the growth of diamond, and nitrogen should be replenished earlier than hydrogen.” Source and further information: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17763758 2) “The nucleation of diamond is one critical limitation which severely restricts the use of diamond films for emerging technologies. The nucleation process dictates the structure and morphology of the diamond thin films; therefore, nucleation ultimately affects a wide range of film properties including adhesion, strength, thermal and electrical conductivity, and optical transmissivity. Without specific pretreatments to overcome nucleation problems, heterogeneous diamond nucleati
