What makes diamond the hardest metal b

The answer lies in the way the carbon atoms form bonds with each other. Note about 3D molecules -- Our files on this page now use Jsmol instead of Jmol. These files make use of Javascript which permits viewing of 3D molecules on tablets and phones and is also easier to use on Macs.

Try this:. Rotate the Graphite molecule. Hold the left mouse button down over the image and move the mouse to rotate the graphite molecule. Notice that graphite is layered. While there are strong covalent bonds between carbon atoms in each layer, there are only weak forces between layers.

This allows layers of carbon to slide over each other in graphite. On the other hand, in diamond each carbon atom is the same distance to each of its neighboring carbon atoms. In this rigid network atoms cannot move. This explains why diamonds are so hard and have such a high melting point. Your feedback is important to us. However, we do not guarantee individual replies due to the high volume of messages.

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By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Share Twit Share Email. Home Physics Condensed Matter. A diamond ring. Scientists have calculated that wurtzite boron nitride and lonsdaleite hexagonal diamond both have greater indentation strengths than diamond. Source: English Wikipedia. This document is subject to copyright.

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A shock-induced mechanism for the creation of organic molecules Sep 02, Rare mineral lonsdaleite is sometimes formed when meteorites containing graphite hit Earth, while wurtzite boron nitride is formed during volcanic eruptions that produce very high temperatures and pressures. If confirmed, however, wurtzite boron nitride may turn out most useful of the two, because it is stable in oxygen at higher temperatures than diamond.

This makes it ideal to place on the tips of cutting and drilling tools operating at high temperatures, or as corrosion-resistant films on the surface of a space vehicle, for example. When the material is stressed some bonds re-orientate themselves by about 90 degrees to relieve the tension.

Although diamond undergoes a similar process, something about the structure of wurtzite boron nitride makes it nearly 80 per cent stronger after the process takes place, says study co-author Changfeng Chen at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, an ability diamond does not have.

Natalia Dubrovinskaia from the University of Heidelberg in Germany has carried out similar research. The more that is understood about what influences the hardness of materials, the more it will become possible to design hard materials to order, she explains. However, she points out that in order to prove the theory, single crystals of each material would be needed.

So far there are no known ways to isolate or grow such crystals of either material.