Diamond-Busting, Super-Hard Graphite Squeezed Toward Reality [Diamonds]

Are the diamond’s days as an indestructible substance numbered? Possibly. At about 170,000 atmospheres, scientists managed to exploit super-hard graphite to crack one in 2003, but the exact this is because was somewhat of a mystery. Now maybe it’s not.

There’s still much work to be done, obviously-as there usually is with breakthroughs and articles that include the phrases ” scientists” and ” researchers” -but computer simulations show inklings that the diamond’s days as an indestructible force are coming to an end.

[...] Hui-Tian Wang at Nankai University in Tianjin, China, and co-workers have shown that the compressed material might be at the least partly product of bct-carbon, that’s built up from rings of four carbon atoms. Bct-carbon has attributes of both diamond, which has a cubic structure, and graphite, composed of loosely linked sheets of carbon atoms in a hexagonal lattice. In bct-carbon, layers of carbon rings are linked by strong vertical bonds.

The new technique could also be theorized to require far less heating than other super-hard materials, which could be a boon to anyone inside the near future who requires large amounts of the stuff…

Coming soon, in 2030! Real geeks get their brides-to-be engagement rings created from bct-carbon! Diamonds were cool, for a time, but when you actually need to point out her never-ending love, get the woman something truly indestructible! Billy Mays can be so proud. [ New Scientist ]

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This post is tagged: computer simulations, cubic structure, engagement rings, hexagonal lattice, nankai university, woman something