How are diamonds described?
Diamond, a mineral composed of pure carbon. It is the hardest naturally occurring substance known; it is also the most popular gemstone. Because of their extreme hardness, diamonds have a number of important industrial applications.
How diamond structure is formed?
high temperature and pressure found in the Earth’s mantle, carbon atoms use all four available bonds to bond to other carbon atoms. Each carbon atom participates in a covalent bond, in which the atoms share electrons. This is the most tightly bound crystalline configuration known. It is why diamond is so hard.
What is the structure of diamond called?
Diamond is a form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic.
What is the chemical formula of Diamond?
C
Why is diamond stronger than graphite?
However, diamond is harder than graphite because of the carbon atoms in a diamond form 4 covalent bonds in the form of tetrahedral structure. While the carbon atoms in the graphite form 4 covalent bonds in the form of hexagonal structure. This is the reason why diamond is harder than graphite.
Is Diamond a bad conductor of electricity?
As we know diamond is a giant covalent structure i.e. each carbon atom is covalently bonded with other carbon atoms. So the four outermost electrons, four carbon atoms, are engaged or trapped in the covalent bonds which means that there are no free electrons. So diamond is a bad conductor of electricity.
Why is diamond a good insulator of electricity?
These arise because each carbon atom is only bonded to 3 other carbon atoms. However, in diamond, all 4 outer electrons on each carbon atom are used in covalent bonding, so there are no delocalised electrons and thus it is an insulator.
Will a diamond shatter if hit with a hammer?
As an example, you can scratch steel with a diamond, but you can easily shatter a diamond with a hammer. The diamond is hard, the hammer is strong. Hit steel with a hammer of any material and it just absorbs the blow by shifting the ions sideways instead of shattering.
Can you shatter a diamond?
While a steel hammer can shatter a diamond, it won’t easily cause scratches. That’s because diamonds are durable, but they have low tenacity. Meaning, brute force at a soft point can completely shatter or smash a diamond.