Cool, that made it work. According to Wolfram Alpha one cubic meter of air is 1.275kg. According to Math! How much CO2 by weight in the atmosphere? carbon dioxide is 0.0582% of the mass of air. Asking Wolfram Alpha for the mass of carbon and oxygen suggests the carbon is roughly 27.2% of the mass of a CO2 molecule.
So, the CO2 content of a cubic meter of air is 0.074205 kg, of which the carbon is 0.02018376 kg, or 20 grams... Okay, if that math is right then assuming you could suck up 100% of the carbon you'd get enough carbon for 100 carats of diamond.
O.O;
Then again that was assuming a one hundred percent conversion, which even with handwavium is probably not going to be seen without careful work and major quirks. Still... Did I get that math right?
This all started with my wondering how much air J. Random Character would need to shove through a device intended to scrub CO2 out of the air; and as a happy side effect give them something salable to pay for their benevolent action to end global warming (as if one machine would be likely to make a noticeable dent in global CO2).
My first thought was carbon fiber. It actually took a bit to remember that diamond was simply a crystalline form of carbon. At which point I got the image in my head of police raiding a lab over suspicion of unlicensed experimentation with handwavium, spotting a big mass of machinery and wondering what it is and why it's hooked up to the ventilation ducts, and most of all why are they hearing a 'tink!' sound every few seconds.
And wouldn't a certain cartel really love this guy.
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Will the transhumanist future have catgirls? Does Japan still exist? Well, there is your answer.
So, the CO2 content of a cubic meter of air is 0.074205 kg, of which the carbon is 0.02018376 kg, or 20 grams... Okay, if that math is right then assuming you could suck up 100% of the carbon you'd get enough carbon for 100 carats of diamond.
O.O;
Then again that was assuming a one hundred percent conversion, which even with handwavium is probably not going to be seen without careful work and major quirks. Still... Did I get that math right?
This all started with my wondering how much air J. Random Character would need to shove through a device intended to scrub CO2 out of the air; and as a happy side effect give them something salable to pay for their benevolent action to end global warming (as if one machine would be likely to make a noticeable dent in global CO2).
My first thought was carbon fiber. It actually took a bit to remember that diamond was simply a crystalline form of carbon. At which point I got the image in my head of police raiding a lab over suspicion of unlicensed experimentation with handwavium, spotting a big mass of machinery and wondering what it is and why it's hooked up to the ventilation ducts, and most of all why are they hearing a 'tink!' sound every few seconds.
And wouldn't a certain cartel really love this guy.
-----
Will the transhumanist future have catgirls? Does Japan still exist? Well, there is your answer.