Not sure if any of these are true, but it couldn't hurt to post them and see what you guys think.
More light = faster growth?
I heard this one while talking to a friend. According to him, if you put torches around a sapling, it'll grow faster, even it's already exposed to daylight. If this is true, is there a limit to how much you can stretch this? I mean, glowstone/torch matrix much?
Diamonds around lava?
I heard this one while in multiplayer with a few people. Their strategy for finding diamond was to find a lava pit, then excavate around it. It seemed to work a lot of the time, but that could just be normal statistical stuff in action rather than something that's actually in the code. So, which is it?
I'll post more when I think of them. I know there are a whole bunch more than that that I have stashed up in my little cephalic chest of grey matter, but I can't seem to recall them right now.
Diamonds around lava?
True! Again in theory. I don't believe there needs to be lava around however where diamonds are most common is also where lava is most common. Ie: Lower down.
So then there's really no reason to excavate around lava when it's found, as opposed to just digging a 1x2 tunnel once you hit the bottom?
Sunlight is light level 15, which is the highest it can go. So adding torches/glowstone to the area will not increase the amount of light in the day. And more light does not mean faster growth. You have to have a minimum amount of light to grow (10 I believe), but more than that doesn't mean growing faster. Putting out artificial light means the trees get light 24/7 though, so they can grow faster that way, because they get light all the time.
Diamonds appear in the lava layer, about 15 above bedrock and lower. They do not appear near lava, but if you are deep enough to run into lava a lot, you are deep enough to run into diamonds the most often. If you find sea level lava though, diamonds won't appear any more often.
In regards to the diamond and lava theory, I think that it is because when you find a lava pool underground there is likely to be either a little cave surrounding the pool of lava or a cave system connected to the pool of lava so you can see a lot of exposed rocks without having to excavate out the area.
If this doesn't make sense I'll try explaining better.
First of all, placing torches or glowstone around a sapling will help it grow, but there is no additional boost during day. Glowstone and torches are light sources, so if it is night or underground, the tree will still grow. The light level needed to grow trees is 9, and it must be that level right above the sapling. For the sapling to stay in the ground, there has to be a light level of 8 (This counts for planted flowers too; night is ignored.). I made a list below to show what light levels each light-emitting object emits.
*When Redstone Ore is touched it will emit light. This will only work by touching it with your body, punching it or hitting it with any tool. Redstone's glow isn't permanent, and will stop after a few seconds.
The way to tell how far away the maximum distance of the light source is simple. The block that the light source is in is the maximum light level it emits. Every space after goes down by one. Some translucent/transparent blocks can alter the light emitted. 1 Leaf block take away 1 extra level (2 total per leaf block), 1 water block takes away 2 extra levels (3 total per water block) and ice takes away 3 extra levels (4 total per ice block). Glass, portals, Redstone, pressure plates, levers and all other translucent/transparent blocks will not add on any extra. The formula to find the distance is to subtract 9 from the light level. Put 1 block down on a flat piece of land. This is where the sapling is going to be placed. Add on the sum you got from the formula on each side. Place your light sources on each end of the +. Note that when using this strategy, you have to elevate the light source up 1 block so the light wil hit the block space above the sapling directly. Let's say you used Torches. A Torch - as said above - has a light level of 14. A sapling requires a light level of 9 above it to grow, and has to have a light level of 8 to stay in the ground. The block the Torch is in is 14. 14 - 9 = 5. It should then look like this. Horizontal Diagram:
No. Lava pools do not have more diamonds in them in other places. Height in minecraft is measured in levels. The very bottom of a map is layer 1. Bedrock ranges from layer 1 to 5. Sea level is about level 64. Lava can appear at any level, but is scarce the higher up you go. Diamond is only found at layers 1 to 16, where lava is easier to find. Although lava doesn't confirm diamond nearby, it is sort of a sign. Basically, it isn't the lava, it's where the lava is.
No. Lava pools do not have more diamonds in them in other places. Height in minecraft is measured in levels. The very bottom of a map is layer 1. Bedrock ranges from layer 1 to 5. Sea level is about level 64. Lava can appear at any level, but is scarce the higher up you go. Diamond is only found at layers 1 to 16, where lava is easier to find. Although lava doesn't confirm diamond nearby, it is sort of a sign. Basically, it isn't the lava, it's where the lava is.
I go by this rule of thumb: the greater the danger, the greater the profit. If I stumble on a cave with lava crawling with creepers, I can be pretty sure that there is going to be a lot of ore in the vicinity. Conversely, if I suddenly stumble upon a rich vein while flat out tunneling, I immediately get wary because a lava pool or dungeon may be only a few blocks away.
More light = faster growth?
I heard this one while talking to a friend. According to him, if you put torches around a sapling, it'll grow faster, even it's already exposed to daylight. If this is true, is there a limit to how much you can stretch this? I mean, glowstone/torch matrix much?
Diamonds around lava?
I heard this one while in multiplayer with a few people. Their strategy for finding diamond was to find a lava pit, then excavate around it. It seemed to work a lot of the time, but that could just be normal statistical stuff in action rather than something that's actually in the code. So, which is it?
I'll post more when I think of them. I know there are a whole bunch more than that that I have stashed up in my little cephalic chest of grey matter, but I can't seem to recall them right now.
So then there's really no reason to excavate around lava when it's found, as opposed to just digging a 1x2 tunnel once you hit the bottom?
Diamonds appear in the lava layer, about 15 above bedrock and lower. They do not appear near lava, but if you are deep enough to run into lava a lot, you are deep enough to run into diamonds the most often. If you find sea level lava though, diamonds won't appear any more often.
If this doesn't make sense I'll try explaining better.
Sunlight ------------ 15
Glowstone --------- 15
Fire ----------------- 15
Lava ---------------- 15
Jack-O-Lantern ---- 15
Torch --------------- 14
Lit Furnace --------- 13
Portal --------------- 11
Redstone Ore* ------- 9
Lit Redstone Torch - 7
Moonlight ------------ 4
Brown Mushroom ---- 1
*When Redstone Ore is touched it will emit light. This will only work by touching it with your body, punching it or hitting it with any tool. Redstone's glow isn't permanent, and will stop after a few seconds.
The way to tell how far away the maximum distance of the light source is simple. The block that the light source is in is the maximum light level it emits. Every space after goes down by one. Some translucent/transparent blocks can alter the light emitted. 1 Leaf block take away 1 extra level (2 total per leaf block), 1 water block takes away 2 extra levels (3 total per water block) and ice takes away 3 extra levels (4 total per ice block). Glass, portals, Redstone, pressure plates, levers and all other translucent/transparent blocks will not add on any extra. The formula to find the distance is to subtract 9 from the light level. Put 1 block down on a flat piece of land. This is where the sapling is going to be placed. Add on the sum you got from the formula on each side. Place your light sources on each end of the +. Note that when using this strategy, you have to elevate the light source up 1 block so the light wil hit the block space above the sapling directly. Let's say you used Torches. A Torch - as said above - has a light level of 14. A sapling requires a light level of 9 above it to grow, and has to have a light level of 8 to stay in the ground. The block the Torch is in is 14. 14 - 9 = 5. It should then look like this. Horizontal Diagram:
[] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []
[] [] [] [] [] [] [] []
No. Lava pools do not have more diamonds in them in other places. Height in minecraft is measured in levels. The very bottom of a map is layer 1. Bedrock ranges from layer 1 to 5. Sea level is about level 64. Lava can appear at any level, but is scarce the higher up you go. Diamond is only found at layers 1 to 16, where lava is easier to find. Although lava doesn't confirm diamond nearby, it is sort of a sign. Basically, it isn't the lava, it's where the lava is.
I go by this rule of thumb: the greater the danger, the greater the profit. If I stumble on a cave with lava crawling with creepers, I can be pretty sure that there is going to be a lot of ore in the vicinity. Conversely, if I suddenly stumble upon a rich vein while flat out tunneling, I immediately get wary because a lava pool or dungeon may be only a few blocks away.