Micro-disk Patterns on Diamond Dodecahedra

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Abstract
An account is given of microscopic and interferometric studies on slightly raised disk formations which appear on the dodecahedral faces of several diamonds. One small diamond exhibits more than a thousand such disks on its faces. Interferometry shows that the disks are slight elevations. It is conjectured that they owe their origin to a protective action of small bubbles. Evidence is given that the crystals showing the disks have been subjected to a solution or etch mechanism in the final stages of the crystal formation. The suggested micro-bubbles adhering to the surface would locally prevent dissolution, leaving ultimately slightly raised disks on the surface. By postulating the possibility of slight movement or oscillation of the conjectured bubbles, most of the observed complex topographical features of the disks can be accounted for.
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