Moissanite, Beyond Jewelry
•Posted on July 08 2019
Because of the remarkable properties of Moissanites, its applications go far beyond jewelry. Below is a list of just a few ways in which Moissanite is changing the world as we know it:
Body Armor
Pinnacle Armor, California based company, manufactures military grade body armor, known as "Dragon Skin", which is composed of discs of Moissanite (silicon carbide). Thanks to the design and extremely tough nature of the silicon plates, Dragon Skin body armor is known to withstand grenade blasts and up to 40 rounds of ammunition. It has been worn by civilian contractors in Iraq, special forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, SWAT teams, nine generals in Afghanistan and their bodyguards, the U.S. Secret Service, and the CIA.
Abrasive
Moissanite (silicon carbide) is a popular abrasive in lapidary due to the durability. In manufacturing, it is used for its hardness in abrasive machining processes such as grinding, honing, water-jet cutting and sandblasting. Particles of silicon carbide are laminated to paper to create sandpapers and the grip tape on skateboards.
Automobile Parts in High Performance Luxury Cars
Silicon-infiltrated carbon-carbon composite is used for high performance "ceramic" brake discs as it is able to withstand extreme temperatures. The silicon carbide reacts with the graphite in the carbon-carbon composite to become carbon fiber reinforced silicon carbide (C/SiC). These discs are used on some road going sports cars, including the Porsche Carrera GT, the Bugatti Veyron, the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, Bentleys, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and some specific high performance Audis.
LED Light bulbs
silicon carbide is used in the creation of LED light bulbs. CREE Inc, the company that makes the gem grade raw Moissanite crystals for Charles & Colvard, is also one of the world leaders in LED light manufacturing and research and development.
Astronomy
The Herschel Space Observatory telescope is a European Space Agency space observatory that was launched into orbit in 2009. It is the largest space telescope ever launched, carrying a single mirror of 3.5 metres (11.5 ft) in diameter, which is made of polycrystalline Moissanite. The high hardness, toughness and thermal conductivity of Moissanite make it an ideal mirror material for astronomical telescopes.