The Diamond Hunters (1971) by Smith Wilbur

Author:Smith, Wilbur [Wilbur, Smith,]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2011-04-02T22:56:39+00:00

"Let's see the X-ray room." It was a tiny cupboard-like compartment. The floor, roof and all four walls were clad with thick sheet lead. Suspended from the roof was the X-ray machine, and under it a circular table the surface of which was covered with a honeycombpatterned stainless steel sheet.

"The concentrated gravel spills on to the table, and the table revolves under the X-ray machine which fluoresces each diamond and the computer picks it up and reports its size and exact position on the table. The computer then commands one of those - " Benedict pointed to a forest of hard plastic tubes, each attached to a metal arm, to swing out over the table exactly above the diamond and suck it up. The computer selects the correct diameter of tube for the size of the diamond - and, after the tube has obeyed the computer, the table passes under a second X-ray machine which confirms that the diamond has been collected. If, by chance, the tube fails to suck up the stone, then the computer automatically sends the table on another circuit. If, however, the diamond is safely gathered then the waste material is scraped from the table and it swings round to pick up more gravel from the cyclone room and repeat the whole process. The system is 100 percent effective.

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