If you hit a diamond with a hammer will it break?

Question

Give me some science behind youre answer, and please specify if you are a diamond expert.

Answer 1

Yes.
Toughness relates to a material's ability to resist breakage from forceful impact. The toughness of natural diamond has been measured as 3.4 MN m-3/2, which is good compared to other gemstones, but poor compared to most engineering materials. As with any material, the macroscopic geometry of a diamond contributes to its resistance to breakage. Diamond is therefore more fragile in some orientations than others.
see here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond#Material_properties

Answer 2

Hardness is really defined by what cuts what. Diamonds scratch glass, so Diamonds are harder than glass....but here we are not talking about cutting.

Rather we are talking about an impact and the energy of that impact.

There are 2 issues here. Firstly, hitting a flawless diamond and secondly hitting a flawed diamond.

Diamons can infact be brital, which means they can shatter. When cutting large expensive diamond they may actually study it for years beforeband. A diamond will shatter if cut the wrong way.

With a large enough force behind it, we can assume a hammer will either be soft enough to basically allow the diamond to embed itself into the hammer (for example, the use of a wooden mallet) or hard enough that the diamond shatters (a diamond hammer will shatter a diamond). What do they use to cut diamonds...diamonds....true.

Answer 3

Diamonds are cut by hammers and chisels. If you hit a diamond at the right angle, yes - you can break a diamond as long as you hit it right - on one of the planes that will allow it be cut. Otherwise, if you use a big enough hammer and enough force, you can smash any diamond into dust. Even though diamonds are the hardest known naturally occuring item on Earth, they are still not indestructible. Why you would want destroy a valuable diamond to is another story.

Answer 4

Actually, No.

The diamond has a very strong bonds between 2 molecules of it.
Diamond is a carbon, the same material, that makes your pencil could write a thing.
But, the carbon has 4 valence electrons. Valence electrons is the outermost electron on an atom.
Each of your pencil's material and diamond is a same one, the differ is:
- All of 4 valence electrons of diamond is used, in order to make a covalent bonds. Each of the atom shared 4 valence electrons to other atoms. So, it was very strong.
- Just 3 of 4 valence electrons made a bonds with other atoms. So, it was very weak.

Because of that, you can break pencils with your hands easily, but, you can't break the diamond, even with a hammer.

Does anybody know how to break a diamond? With a chainsaw?

Sorry, if there's many words that is mistake.
Thank you.

Answer 5

FIRST - what's the diamond sitting on? the forces are such that the hammer would properly press the diamond into the floor the position the diamond replaced into resting. If no longer, the most probably occurrence is that the hammer will be dented. there's a small danger that the hammer blow will be on a fracture factor, which could reason the diamond to split into a million or extra products. the diamond isn't overwhelmed.

Answer 6

I work in the diamond industry and I can guarantee that if you hit a diamond with a hammer it will break.

Answer 7

i doubt it, isn't the diamond the hardest thing on earth? It would probably fly off the table and hit someone in the eye. I'm not a diamond expert. ooohhh unless you used a rubber hammer (mallet) then the diamond would probably just stick to it. Unless it's a small diamond with no edges to cling to the mallet, it'd probably just lay there.

Answer 8

DIAMOND WILL NOT BREAK BECAUSE DIAMOND HAVE
6 ATOMS OF CARBON.

Answer 9

Yes?

Answer 10

No, because diamonds are harder then steel.