Why Are Diamonds Hard?
Other People Are Reading
-
Diamond Overview
-
Diamonds are known for being the most durable gemstones and the hardest material naturally available on the earth. Diamonds have long been prized for their indestructible qualities, and the particular refractive properties they have when correctly shaped. The name diamond itself is derived from the Greek "adamas," meaning unconquerable. Scientists have studied diamonds for generations to find out under what conditions they are created. Today we are able to replicate diamond creation in labs and produce synthetic versions for drills and other highly technical machinery.
Diamond Creation
-
Although diamond is gem and mineral in substance, it has its origins in carbon, an element found in lifeforms and naturally occurring in the earth's crust. Ancient life forms dissolved into the ground produced both wells of oil and strata of coal as they decayed into more simple material. This carbon material, along with the mineral carbon already present in the earth's crust, is moved and combined by the shifting of the earth. Carbon located in geologically active or volcanic areas, along with the carbon located deep in the crust closer to the earth's core, is put under tremendous pressure and heat.
Scientists believe that most diamonds were formed about 300 miles beneath the surface of the earth, where the intense pressure and heat up to 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit compressed the carbon so much that its molecules could not stand the stress and collapsed in on themselves, reforming into crystalline structures at various pressure points.
-
Structure of Diamonds
-
These structures follow the cubic crystal system, made up of carbon atoms now rearranged into tetrahedron shapes. Hexagonal-shaped diamonds are also sometimes found, though this shape is not as common. These particular cubic shapes are very resistant to any further transformation and give the diamond its durability. Diamonds reach the surface of the earth through volcanic activity, specifically volcanic tubs that carry molten rock and other materials to the surface of the earth. Diamonds are carried up through these tubes and eventually become trapped in the hardened tubes of volcanic rock or are washed out into stream and rivers.
While diamonds are renowned for their hardness, scientific understanding of their molecular structure has led to knowledge of similar substances also in existence. Boron nitride, for instance, has been proven to become nearly as hard as diamond when it is forced to assume a crystalline shape mimicking the diamond's structure. Theoretical materials that scientists do not have the ability to create may be even harder than diamond, such as the theoretic substance beta carbon nitride.
-
