THE LONSDALEITE DIAMOND
Diamonds are both aesthetically pleasing
and functional. Not only can they be used to create stunning jewelry, they can
also cut through some of the toughest materials on the planet. Now, an
international team of scientists, led by researchers from Australian National
University (ANU) and including experts from RMIT, the University of Sydney, and
the United States, has developed in a lab a diamond that’s even harder than the
jeweler’s versions.
In a study published in the journal
Scientific Reports, the team describes how they developed Lonsdaleite, a
nanocrystalline hexagonal diamond, from glassy carbon. Named after pioneering crystallographer
Dame Kathleen Lonsdale, this type of diamond has thus far only been found in
nature at the site of meteorite impacts. The researchers’ nano-sized creation
was made in a diamond anvil at 400° Celsius (752° F), though it would require a
temperature twice that to be formed in a laboratory.
Lonsdaleite is much harder than jewelers’
diamonds, and its ability to cut through ultra-solid materials would be
particularly useful for a variety of applications. “This new diamond is not
going to be on any engagement rings. You’ll more likely find it on a mining
site,” lead researcher Jodie Bradby from ANU’s Research School of Physics and
Engineering told Phys.org. “Any time you need a super-hard material to cut
something, this new diamond has the potential to do it more easily and more
quickly.”
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