Difference between revisions of "Diamond"
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Revision as of 04:56, February 16, 2008
| Diamond | |
|---|---|
| |
| Chemical name | Carbon |
| Chemical formula | C |
| Identification | |
| Birefringence | None |
| Colors | Colorless. Impurities may produce pink, yellow, brown |
| Crystal habit | Octahedral |
| Crystal system | Cubic |
| Cleavage | Perfect in four directions |
| Dispersion | 0.044 |
| Fracture | Conchoidal - step like |
| Hardness | 10 |
| Luster | Adamantine |
| Name origin | Ancient Greek adamas - "invincible". |
| Optics | Singly refractive |
| Pleochroism | None |
| Specific gravity | 3.52 |
| Spectral | In pale yellow stones a 415.5 nm line is typical. Irradiated and annealed diamonds often show a line around 594 nm when cooled to low temperatures. |
| Streak | Colorless |
Diamond is an allotrope of carbon, and can be formed when carbon atoms are arranged in a tetrahedral fashion when put under immense amounts of heat and pressure. Diamonds are created in the Earth's mantle, due to forces and heat required for their creation, and are sometimes brought near the surface through volcanic eruption.
Diamonds are also noted for being the hardest natural material on the Moh's Scale, and fairly rare (deposits are found in Kimberlite in South Africa). As such, natural diamonds are used for jewelry, and synthetic diamonds for drill bits.
Diamond is the traditional stone for engagement rings, and is the birthstone for April.