• Question: If Diamond is made up of the same things as Carbon why is one so much stronger than the other?

    Asked by griffmeg11 to Clare, Mariana, Pedro, Robert, Susanne on 12 Nov 2012.
    • Photo: Susanne Muekusch

      Susanne Muekusch answered on 12 Nov 2012:

      Hi griffmeg11,
      no matter on which question I click- it is you again 😉

      The answer to the question: Because the atoms are ordered in a different way. What makes a material strong is how the atoms (or molecules) are ordered or attached to each other.

      Take water and ice. Same molecules, but you wouldn’t want to jump in a pool of ice! In ice, the water molecules are more ordered and kept together by stronger intermolecular forces.

    • Photo: Clare Taylor

      Clare Taylor answered on 12 Nov 2012:

      Diamond is formed when carbon is subjected to extreme pressure and heat. Although they are the same element, diamonds have a different structure and the bonds between the carbon atoms are ordered in a different way. I really like Susanne’s ice and water example – a great way to explain it!

      Did you know that scientists actually created another diamond that is even harder and stronger than a regular diamond? They compressed a form of carbon known as known as buckyballs to 400,000X normal atmospheric pressure in between two other diamonds, kind of like a buckyball sandwich and guess what? The new diamond was so strong it made dents in the two sandwich diamonds!

      Super-hard diamonds have also been found in a meteorite that fell to earth! Scientists think that new diamond structures formed when carbon was subjected to extreme pressure and temperature as the meteorite entered the earth’s atmosphere! Amazing!

    • Photo: Robert Insall

      Robert Insall answered on 22 Nov 2012:

      In diamond each carbon atom is attached to four others, pointing out in three dimensions as far away from the other three attachments as possible. This three-dimensional arrangement means it’s super-strong – every direction is reinforced.
      The carbon in charcoal is all joined together willy-nilly with lots of free space (that’s why it’s light) and gaps and weaknesses. And graphite – the lead in pencils – has all its carbon atoms in flat sheets – the sheets are strong but they all slide off one another like boards in a stack.

      If you want a giggle, look for pictures of someone burning diamonds – they may be precious and sparkly, but they burn like coal…

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