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are diamonds the strongest substance in the universe


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Depends on what your definition of strongest. Diamonds get that reputation because they are at the top of the hardness scale, which has to do with the strength of chemical bonds. Hardness is determined by doing a scratching test, basically seeing what will scratch what. Diamonds score a 10 on their ability to scratch other minerals and not be scratched themselves. Diamonds on the other hand can easily be destroyed by smashing them while some metal alloys can be pounded on all day and they will only loose thier shape a little.

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... The bonds all meet at equal angles and are of teh same size. There are no 'weak points' . This way, it makes the diamond very hard. But, the other form of carbon (Graphite) is pretty soft. This is becuase there are strong points and weak points. The weak points are always the first to break!

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But, the other form of carbon (Graphite) is pretty soft. This is becuase there are strong points and weak points. The weak points are always the first to break!

 

Diamonds have a terahedral 3-D structure with each carbon atom linked to four others.

Graphite has a Heaxagonal layered structure with each carbon atom linked to three others. It is these layers that are teh weak points as they tend to easily slide over each other.

Not surprisingly, when substances end up with the 3-d tetrahedral diamond like structure they tend to be hard, another example would be Silicon Carbide

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the thing about diamond (carbon) is that it has exactly half the missing electrons in its outer shell. This mean every carbon can join to another almost perfectly.

 

Theoretically a larger molecule again with 1/2 the electrons in its outer shell in a crystalline structure would be harder, but it may be impossible to make, a diamond made from americum etc. theoretically speaking though, are there any large (+90 atomic no.) that have 1/2 shells on the outside?

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Theoretically a larger molecule again with 1/2 the electrons in its outer shell in a crystalline structure would be harder, but it may be impossible to make, a diamond made from americum etc. theoretically speaking though, are there any large (+90 atomic no.) that have 1/2 shells on the outside?

 

Silicon i believe is a larger molecule with half the electrons in the outer shell, and shares a lot of properties of carbon lying in the same group of the periodic table as Carbon.

However, it does not have a form harder than diamond.

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