2006-11-04 04:55:39 · 12 answers · asked by Thomas M 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
I would have said Diamonds but I just found this from physicsweb.org:
Diamonds are not forever
Physicists in Germany have created a material that is harder than diamond. Natalia Dubrovinskaia and colleagues at the University of Bayreuth made the new material by subjecting carbon-60 molecules to immense pressures. The new form of carbon, which is known as aggregated diamond nanorods, is expected to have many industrial applications (App. Phys. Lett. 87 083106).
The hardness of a material is measured by its isothermal bulk modulus. Aggregated diamond nanorods have a modulus of 491 gigapascals (GPa), compared with 442 GPa for conventional diamond. Dubrovinskaia and two of her co-workers - Leonid Dubrovinky and Falko Langenhorst - have patented the process used to make the new material.
Diamond derives its hardness from the fact that each carbon atom is connected to four other atoms by strong covalent bonds. The new material is different in that it is made of tiny interlocking diamond rods. Each rod is a crystal that has a diameter of between 5 and 20 nanometres and a length of about 1 micron.
2006-11-04 05:00:37 · answer #1 · answered by free2stargate32 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Diamond is the hardest naturally occuring substance. A different form of carbon called an aggregated diamond nanorod was synthesised in 2005 and is the hardest substance known to man.
2006-11-04 13:00:40 · answer #2 · answered by troythom 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The diamond is the hardest natural substance known. This hardness is exhibited in diamond’s resistance to scratching and its ability to scratch other materials. Steel and glass, for instance, can be scratched by diamond. The Mohs hardness scale, devised by the German mineralogist Friedrich Mohs to indicate relative hardness of substances on a rating scale from 1 to 10, assigns diamond a value of 10. Diamond’s hardness is not a constant quantity but varies even within a single diamond.
2006-11-04 13:05:50 · answer #3 · answered by Scabius Fretful 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Diamond is the hardest naturally made substance on earth
2006-11-04 17:55:28 · answer #4 · answered by mcdonaldcj 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A diamond.
2006-11-04 13:00:23 · answer #5 · answered by cloudprincess92 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
hardest element known is diamond
2006-11-04 12:57:55 · answer #6 · answered by a2dhez 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Iranian stance on nuclear development.
2006-11-04 13:03:21 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The Diamond, us women should all know this lol.
2006-11-04 13:37:40 · answer #8 · answered by dientzy1 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
diamond
2006-11-05 09:23:34 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
diamonds
2006-11-04 13:18:35 · answer #10 · answered by Lil_One 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋