Diamond is one of the parent forms of carbon. Diamond is renowned as a material with superlative physical qualities, most of which originate from the strong covalent bonding between its atoms. In particular, diamond has the highest hardness and thermal conductivity of any bulk material. Those properties determine the major industrial application of diamond in cutting and polishing tools and the scientific applications in diamond knives and diamond anvil cells.
Properties
- Diamond is the hardest known natural material on Earth.
- Diamond conducts heat 5 times faster than copper, which is why it feels cold to the *touch.
- Pure diamond is the most transparent material known. It reflects visible light, *ultra-violet light, and infrared light, and all the frequencies in between.
- Diamond can be an insulator or a conductor, so it can either allow electricity to *pass through or block it.
- Diamond can survive intact in environments that will destroy other materials. It can *survive severe physical, chemical and radioactive forces.
- If you place diamonds inside the human body they will not trigger an immune response.
Uses
- One of the most common uses of diamonds is in jewelry. Many rings and necklaces have diamonds. Well cut diamonds are very expensive because they make excellent *jewelry. Diamonds are very beautiful and sparkle in the light.
- Synthetic diamonds (man-made) are mainly used for industrial applications. They are put in drill bits and saws to cut different materials.
- Other gemstones can be cut and polished by diamonds.
- Precision cutting can be achieved by using diamonds. This is called fine engraving. In case you haven’t noticed from the above points, diamonds are very hard which makes them ideal for cutting material.
- Windows that cover the openings of lasers, x-rays and vacuum chambers have diamonds in them.
- Diamonds are used as micro-bearings in many small mechanical devices. The main use is in watches.
- Diamonds are capable of absorbing a lot of heat. That makes them ideal for use in microelectronics to conduct heat away from heat-sensitive parts of the electronics.
- Microchips and computer processors are often coated in diamonds as they are semiconductors of electricity.
Trivia
- The name diamond is derived from the ancient Greek αδάμας (adámas), "proper", "unalterable", "unbreakable", "untamed", from ἀ- (a-), "un-" + δαμάω (damáō), "I overpower", "I tame".
See also
- List of Diamonds(under construction)
- List of Minerals(under construction)