MANY PEOPLE from in or around Carnoustie have gone on to achieve success in a wide variety of career paths, but only one has used his academic prowess to create diamonds from peanut butter!

Professor Malcolm McMahon and a team at the Centre for Science and Extreme Conditions at Edinburgh University stunned the scientific world last week when they revealed they had been able to produce a synthetic form of the precious gemstone from something that most people use for spreading on their toast.

Professor McMahon is the son of well-known Carnoustie couple Sue and Donald McMahon.

Sue, who is chairman of Carnoustie Community Council and takes an active role in many aspects of the town’s life, said, “We are delighted at Malcolm’s success in his chosen field but, to us, he is still just our laddie.

“Since it was announced that he was making diamonds out of peanut butter he has become something of a media celebrity and his work has been highlighted in many newspapers and on the television.

“From a mother’s—and woman’s—point of view, it would also be nice if he could take some time out from his scientific work and maybe make me a couple of small diamonds I could have set in earrings. I’ve told him I’ll even supply the peanut butter myself!”

Professor McMahon developed a technique that harnesses pressures higher than those found at the centre of the earth to change the atomic structure of carbon-rich materials—including peanut butter—and create diamonds, one of the two naturally-occurring forms of pure carbon.

Describing his pioneering work, Professor McMahon said, “Pressure can cause extraordinary changes in all kinds of materials and can create completely novel materials.

“We are currently developing techniques that will create pressures of up to five million atmospheres, much higher than the pressure at the centre of the earth, to find the holy grail of high-pressure physics, the metallic phase of hydrogen.

“If we manage to make metallic hydrogen, the next step will be to make enough to study it in real detail, which would mean using much larger diamond anvils, about the size of your thumb, to squeeze it.

“Obviously large gem-quality diamonds would be extremely expensive, so we are looking at ways to make them artificially.

“Many carbon-containing materials can be converted into diamond—including peanut butter.”

The Edinburgh team’s work, along with other scientific projects from around the country, is highlighted in an exhibition running this week at the Royal Academy in London.