Diamond forms under high temperature and pressure conditions that exist only about 100 miles beneath the earth’s surface. Diamond’s carbon atoms are bonded in essentially the same way in all directions. Another mineral, graphite, also contains only carbon, but its formation process and crystal structure are very different. Graphite is so soft that you can write with it, while diamond is so hard that you can only scratch it with another diamond.
58x Harder
Diamonds are the hardest material on earth: 58 times harder than anything else in nature.
“Lucy” in the Sky
Fifty light years from earth, this star is a 10 billion-trillion-trillion carat diamond.
1 in 1,000,000
The average yield in most diamond mines is 1 part diamond to 1 million parts host rock.
Facts
- Mineral: Diamond
- Chemistry: C
- Color: Colorless
- Refractive Index: 2.42
- Birefringence: None
- Specific Gravity: 3.52 (+/-0.01)
- Mohs Hardness: 10