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Trick question, Which returns the most light?

I'm gonna guess colorless reflects more light. It looks like the white stone is absorbing more light.
 
My guess is that the white diamond reflects (AKA returns?) more light, and I am basing my answer on my knowledge of color theory, so assuming it applies here

the "color" white is merely the simultaneous presence of colors on the spectrum, so white reflects back all wavelengths on the visible spectrum, so, therefore, more light

however, i do not know if reflect and return are referring to the same thing
 
I assume it depends upon the transparency of the "white" diamond -- which I have never heard of -- and the cut of the colorless diamond. The white diamond should scatter a lot of incident light in all directions. "White" quartz can simply be opaque in contrast to "rock crystal."

I tried to see how much incident light an ideal-cut actually returns and found this, uh, gem on the interwebs from a vendor: "A [redacted] Ideal cut diamond will appear to reflect back more than 100% of the light you put into it, because of all the light bouncing around and reflecting back from all the diamond's facets." So this sounds -- and it is not even my bolding -- like a great way to create light or energy if anyone out there is looking to be a trillionaire...
 
I have to add, that I assume the white diamond is white due to clarity or cut issues which can inhibit light from being returned. Diamonds are inherently clear in the absence of inclusions. Aren't they?
 
IMO, a colorless diamond would reflect more light since it is reflecting from within the stone and from the surface. A highly included “white” stone (even though diamonds really aren’t white) would most likely show light from the surface but very little light return from within.
 
LilAlex said:
I assume it depends upon the transparency of the "white" diamond -- which I have never heard of -- and the cut of the colorless diamond. The white diamond should scatter a lot of incident light in all directions. "White" quartz can simply be opaque in contrast to "rock crystal."

I tried to see how much incident light an ideal-cut actually returns and found this, uh, gem on the interwebs from a vendor: "A [redacted] Ideal cut diamond will appear to reflect back more than 100% of the light you put into it, because of all the light bouncing around and reflecting back from all the diamond's facets." So this sounds -- and it is not even my bolding -- like a great way to create light or energy if anyone out there is looking to be a trillionaire...
Click to expand...

Dont shockwaves from a detonation get stronger when they reflect off of a surface? But the waves ends up traveling a shorter total distance. So maybe in diamonds there is some kind of energy transfer with losing or gaining heat?
 
ahem.... well cut diamond works by gathering light over a wide range of angles and return it towards the viewer.
It will never be 100% because you lose around 17% at the surface.
Modern solar cells already use this.
 
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LilAlex said:
I assume it depends upon the transparency of the "white" diamond -- which I have never heard of -- and the cut of the colorless diamond. The white diamond should scatter a lot of incident light in all directions. "White" quartz can simply be opaque in contrast to "rock crystal."

I tried to see how much incident light an ideal-cut actually returns and found this, uh, gem on the interwebs from a vendor: "A [redacted] Ideal cut diamond will appear to reflect back more than 100% of the light you put into it, because of all the light bouncing around and reflecting back from all the diamond's facets." So this sounds -- and it is not even my bolding -- like a great way to create light or energy if anyone out there is looking to be a trillionaire...
Click to expand...

To LA and all,
I was just wondering about light return vs brilliance.
If I bothered to search hard for a totally Fancy white milky cloudy diamond (which I didn't - it was a spur of the moment idea) ----
Then it would have been all white and would return more light than a transperant diamond in almost all lighting environments.
Karl will suggest some to prove me wrong hahahahaha!
 
Garry it depends on the lighting as you said.
In full sunlight the white diamond is going to appear brighter than a well cut colorless diamond which goes dark but puts on a pretty light show around it.
In soft diffused lighting the white diamond is probably going to win again.
How ever go into someplace with lighting that causes well cut colorless diamonds to put on a great show and they will win.
 
Karl_K said:
Garry it depends on the lighting as you said.
In full sunlight the white diamond is going to appear brighter than a well cut colorless diamond which goes dark but puts on a pretty light show around it.
In soft diffused lighting the white diamond is probably going to win again.
How ever go into someplace with lighting that causes well cut colorless diamonds to put on a great show and they will win.
Click to expand...

I am going to take that as a win hahahahaha
 
oncrutchesrightnow said:
Dont shockwaves from a detonation get stronger when they reflect off of a surface?
Click to expand...

No, but they can be focused -- like for lithotripsy (kidney-stone-busting) or in the case of a 100-foot tsunami in a confined space like a narrow fjord. There is always some energy lost in reflection (right?) -- unless energy is put into the system. Otherwise, it would be like a dropped ball bouncing higher than its starting point. I'm sure there are better physicists here than me, though!

Light hitting a gem is usually parallel or almost so -- like sunlight streaming from a hundred million miles away. Even from overhead halogens in a jeweler's shop, the waves are nearly parallel -- so there is not really an opportunity to "capture" lots of stray light. Maybe some "ambient" light leaks in through the pavilion but that would not be "light return," imo.
 
Garry H (Cut Nut) said:
To LA and all,
I was just wondering about light return vs brilliance.
If I bothered to search hard for a totally Fancy white milky cloudy diamond (which I didn't - it was a spur of the moment idea) ----
Then it would have been all white and would return more light than a transperant diamond in almost all lighting environments.
Karl will suggest some to prove me wrong hahahahaha!
Click to expand...

That would be true if the 'fog' were so dense that the stone was effectively opaque. (i.e. if lit from the front, it would look black when viewed from the back.)

But pictures I have googled show fancy white diamonds as more opalescent than truly white - you can clearly see the pavilion facets. These stones must be scattering some light out of the pavilion that, in a colourless stone, would have been totally reflected and returned forward. So I'm not sure how it works out on balance.
 
Things I have literally never thought about! Thanks guys :bigsmile:
 
THis takes me back to "the cut was" of 15 years ago:)
A mirror has the maximum light return.
 
A well constructed mirror can return 100% of the light which impacts the surface. A superb diamond of the same shape and size cannot do better in light return, but because of extinction, contrast , refraction and intensification of light on many facets, a diamond is prettier than any mirror.

A fully opaque white diamond does not reflect all the light back to your eyes while a mirror can do exactly that. Everywhere there are light/bright/white facets on the white diamond (all around the table) are those places with the maximum light return to the camera's lens. The places which are a bit grayed out, the majority of the facets including the table, are not returning as much light to the viewer. That's what I'm seeing. A clear, well cut diamond, does a far better job even if some of the light does leak out. Otherwise, everyone would buy rose cuts and Polki diamonds.
 
Hey all,
I am not promoting milky white diamonds.
Its just a playful concept.
A white circle the same size as a diamond is brighter than the best cut diamond.
According to a still photo.
But not to a video and not to a stereo 3D video.
If you have the same sized small round mirror then it will show your eye and look fairly dull.
 
Great thread.

More tricksy questions please, tricksy Cut Nut.
 
Garry's "thought experiment" reminds us that the holy grail of diamonds is not light return. It is light performance. And that entails brightness, fire and scintillation. It is in the balancing of those separate optical properties where the magic happens.
 
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