ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Shimansky equation

Hey there kiddo! You might have heard about the Shimansky equation, which is named after a clever scientist named Dr. Igor Shimansky. It's actually a math formula that helps us figure out which rocks have diamonds in them.

Now, let me explain this in a way that's easy to understand. Imagine you have a bunch of different kinds of rocks, and you want to see if any of them have diamonds in them. The Shimansky equation helps us figure out which rocks are most likely to have diamonds.

Here's how it works: First, we need to measure how much chromium and iron are in the rock. Then, we use the Shimansky equation to calculate a number that tells us how likely there are diamonds in the rock.

Now, why do we use chromium and iron to predict if there are diamonds in the rock? Well, diamonds are formed deep inside the Earth, and they get pushed up to the surface by volcanic eruptions. As they rise, they can get mixed up with rocks that have a lot of chromium and iron in them.

Finally, if the Shimansky number we calculate is high enough, we can take a closer look at the rock and see if there are any diamonds in there. Pretty cool, right?