Researchers to Study Properties of the Hope Diamond

Since January, scientists from the Naval Research Laboratory's Chemistry Division have been studying the optical properties of the Hope Diamond, at the invitation of the Smithsonian Institution. In collaboration with the Curator of the National Gem and Mineral Collection at the Smithsonian, Dr. Jeffrey Post, NRL chemist Dr. James Butler, NRL-NRC postdoctoral fellow Dr. Sally Magana, Dr. Roy Walters of Ocean Optics, and Penn State University Professor, Peter Heaney, have conducted spectroscopy tests on the legendary Hope Diamond and other colored diamonds.