Diamonds in the Margaritas?

BBC:

A method of producing synthetic diamonds using tequila - Mexico's favourite alcoholic drink - has been discovered, scientists there say.

The amazing discovery was made by physicists from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and could have many industrial uses.

There is one catch however. The synthetic diamond crystals are too small to be turned into jewellery.

Mexico produces hundreds of millions of litres of tequila every year.

Annual sales to the US alone are worth about $500m.

The head of the scientific team, Miguel Apatica explained to the BBC how they came up with their discovery.

"First of all we turn the liquid tequila into vapour by using a lot of heat. The gas molecules are then broken up into tiny particles. Then we increase the heat even further - to around 800 degrees celsius."

"The end result is that we get carbon atoms which are then deposited in the shape of a very thin diamond film," he added.

The synthetic diamond crystals can only be seen under an electronic microscope.

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They claim this is a cheap way to make diamonds, but I have seen stories suggesting there is a shortage of Tequila. Anyway, I am sure there are many who will drink to diamonds in their Margaritas. At least they will have something interesting to blame their headaches on the next day.