• Submit A Nut
Newsletter
KnowledgeNuts
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Home
  • Facts
  • Finance
  • Misconceptions
  • Differences
  • Bizarre
  • Other
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Facts
  • Finance
  • Misconceptions
  • Differences
  • Bizarre
  • Other
No Result
View All Result
KnowledgeNuts
No Result
View All Result
Home Misconceptions

Diamonds Are Only Mostly Forever

Diamonds Are Only Mostly Forever
202
SHARES
1.6k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
“Diamonds were nothing more than carbon, but carbon in a crystal lattice that made it the hardest known mineral in nature. That was the way we all were headed. I was sure of it. We were destined to be diamonds!” —Alan Bradley, Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag

In A Nutshell

Carbon has a lot of different crystal structures. Two of them—diamonds and graphite—are always switching personalities, Jekyll & Hyde–style.

The Whole Bushel

Related articles

80 Percent Of All Medical Studies Are Lies

80 Percent Of All Medical Studies Are Lies

May 3, 2023
The Great Wall of China Isn’t Visible from Space

The Great Wall of China Isn’t Visible from Space

April 27, 2023

This switching is very odd, because the two minerals couldn’t be more different.

Diamond is transparent and the hardest natural substance known. Graphite, an opaque mineral, is so soft you can pull a chunk of it out of an outcrop and write with it (though pencil manufacturers mix it with clay before wrapping it up in painted wood and sticking an eraser and a big “No. 2” on it).

ADVERTISEMENT

Diamond is an excellent electrical insulator; graphite is a terrific conductor. Diamonds are abrasives; graphite is a lubricant . . . well, you get the idea.

Graphite, the Dr. Jekyll half, has its carbon atoms layered in two-dimensional sheets. Each sheet has carbon-carbon bonds, which are very strong, but the sheets are only held together by weak stacking interactions that let them slide past each other. Diamond, a very attractive Mr. Hyde, has its carbon atoms arranged in a tetrahedron. Now those powerful carbon bonds can back one another up in three dimensions. They’re ready to handle anything that comes their way.

Structure is destiny in the world of crystals. The structures of diamond and graphite are different because of different conditions where the carbon crystallized. Diamond forms deep within the Earth. Its three-dimensional carbon crystals stand up well to the high-temperature, high-pressure conditions down there.

No one is quite sure how the carbon that turns into diamonds got into the planet’s mantle in the first place. It could have been inorganic and present since Earth formed, or it might once have been living matter that turned into graphite and was carried down via the subduction of a tectonic plate.

Let’s leave the diamonds buried in Earth’s mantle for a bit and take a closer look at that graphite.

Graphite always forms at the planet’s surface, where geologic processes carbonize the remains of living matter. Its two-dimensional shape is quite stable under the relatively low temperatures and pressures up here. If you turn up pressure and temperature, though, either by subducting graphite down into the bowels of the Earth or by an asteroid impact, graphite becomes unstable and turns into diamond.

Article Continued Below

It’s now time for the diamonds to reach the surface. That happens in a properly dramatic way for such a treasure, in an explosive kimberlite eruption.

Once up here, diamonds undergo the same fish-out-of-water experience graphite had when its formerly comfortable pressure and temperature conditions changed. They become unstable and start to break down into graphite.

Luckily for us, that process is extremely slow. It takes a lot of energy to undo diamond’s powerful carbon-carbon bonds. Sorry—you’re not going to be able to write a love letter with that diamond ring or pin for many thousands of years. Well, not unless you’re in a hurry to get some graphene, the latest “miracle substance.”

Researchers are trying to make graphene by zapping diamond with a laser. It would be insane to try that with, say, the Hope diamond, but there are plenty of relatively inexpensive natural and synthetic industrial diamonds out there to play with.

Diamond and graphite are both crystallized carbon, but the way their atoms are arranged makes a big difference in their overall properties. It’s relatively easy to turn 2-D graphite into diamond, but 3-D diamond is only mostly forever. It will turn into graphite given enough heat and pressure . . . or time.

Show Me The Proof

Scientific American: How can graphite and diamond be so different if they are both composed of pure carbon?
Smithsonian: Diamonds Unearthed
Popular Mechanics: How Does an Asteroid Impact Make Diamonds?
Kansas Geological Survey: What are Kimberlites?
Royal Society of Chemistry: Carbon
CNN: ‘Miracle material’ graphene one step closer to commercial use
Lasers for Science Facility Programme: Turning diamond to graphite

Post Views: 1,571
Share81Tweet51
ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

80 Percent Of All Medical Studies Are Lies

80 Percent Of All Medical Studies Are Lies

by M.Admin
May 3, 2023
1332

Somewhere around 80 percent of all medical research---the studies that determine what’s good for us and what new drugs are...

The Great Wall of China Isn’t Visible from Space

The Great Wall of China Isn’t Visible from Space

by knowledgenuts
April 27, 2023
7913

Contrary to popular belief that the Great Wall of China is the only man made structure that can be seen...

The Speed of Light is Not Constant

The Speed of Light is Not Constant

by knowledgenuts
April 18, 2023
9393

Most believe that the speed of light is constant and unchanging, but it simply isn’t the case. The speed depends...

Sir Walter Raleigh: To Cloak or Not To Cloak

Sir Walter Raleigh: To Cloak or Not To Cloak

by knowledgenuts
April 5, 2023
1802

Taking the air one day in London, Walter Raleigh saw Queen Elizabeth I in danger of stepping in a mud...

Superstitions Behind Cutting Baby Hair

Superstitions Behind Cutting Baby Hair

by Knowledge Nuts
March 31, 2023
0

With a new bundle of joy comes plenty of choices to make about their care. A baby's first haircut is...

Load More
ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

Nurturing Financial Smarts in Children: 5 Key Tips

Nurturing Financial Smarts in Children: 5 Key Tips

September 21, 2023
Discover the 10 Must-Read Books for Saving and Investing

Discover the 10 Must-Read Books for Saving and Investing

September 20, 2023
Budget-Friendly Meals for Single Parents

Budget-Friendly Meals for Single Parents

September 20, 2023

KnowledgeNuts.com: Your go-to source for insightful information and financial guidance. Explore, learn, and empower your future with us.

Categories
  • Artist
  • Artwork
  • Attitude
  • Bizarre
  • Business
  • Creative Insight
  • Design
  • Differences
  • Facts
  • Finance
  • Forgotten
  • Forgotten Horrors
  • Innovation
  • Inspiration
  • Learning
  • Listicles
  • Market
  • Misconceptions
  • Other
  • Personal Finance Tips
  • Places
  • Thinking
  • Uncategorized
Tags
aid bad credit Business car insurance cash flow credit debt difference disability Education family Finance finances Financial Aid food government assistance Health healthcare help history home home loans housing how to make money how to save insurance Invest Japan jobs loan loans make money Misconceptions Money myths personal finance quick cash saving money savings side hustle side hustles student student aid Superstitions taxes
Newsletter
[mc4wp_form]
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Mobile Privacy Policy
  • Mobile Terms & Conditions
  • SMS Opt-in

© KnowledgeNuts.com – A Division of Media Comms Networking.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Facts
  • Misconceptions
  • Differences
  • Finance
  • Bizarre

© 2023 KnowledgeNuts.com