Named for their six-sided crystalline structure, hexagonal diamonds are elusive: Hexagonal diamonds have been found at some meteorite impact sites, and others have been briefly made in laboratories.
Hexagon diamonds, however, have always been small or ephemeral, so it has been difficult to measure their rigidity. Now a larger hexagonal diamond has been designed and we have the first evidence of its rigidity compared to the natural cubic diamond used, for example, in jewelry.
hexagonal diamonds
Stiffness is the ability of a material to resist deformation under a force or pressure; For example, a rock is more rigid than rubber, since rubber bends when pressed. Hardness is the resistance to scratching or other surface deformations.
According to what they publish in Physical Review B., scientists at Washington State University's Shock Physics Institute created hexagonal diamonds large enough to measure their stiffness using sound waves.
For the study, they used gunpowder and compressed gas to propel small graphite disks the size of a dime at a speed of around 22,000 kilometers per hour over a transparent material. The impact produced shock waves in the disks that very quickly transformed them into hexagonal diamonds. Immediately after impact, the researchers produced a small sound wave and used lasers to measure its movement through the diamond.
As explained Yogendra Gupta, director of the Institute of Crash Physics and corresponding author of the study:
Not only is it the strongest, it has beautiful optical properties and very high thermal conductivity. We have now created the hexagonal shape of the diamond, produced through impact compression experiments, which is significantly stiffer and stronger than normal gem diamonds.
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The news
First proof that artificial hexagonal diamonds are more robust than natural cubic diamonds
was originally published in
Xataka Science
by
Sergio Parra
.