RANDOLPH E. SCHMID
The famed Hope Diamond glows a mysterious red when exposed to ultraviolet light, a finding that scientists say can help them "fingerprint" blue diamonds and tell the real ones from the artificial.
The phosphorescence comes from boron in the gem, the same element that makes it appear blue in normal light, explained Jeffrey Port, curator of the National Gem Collection at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History
But while all blue diamonds glow in ultraviolet light, most glow blue. The Hope glows red, indicating a different mix of boron and nitrogen, Post explained in a telephone interview
by measuring the different glows, have been able to tell real blue diamonds from artificial ones as well as real ones that have been "enhanced" in laboratories
The 45.52-carat blue Hope Diamond is on display at the Natural History museum
the museum hopes to make a video of the stone when it glows
which continues for some time after the light is turned off
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