The Quest to Make a Crystal Harder Than Diamonds

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The Quest to Make a Crystal Harder Than Diamonds.

What are Q-Carbon and Nanocrystalline Diamond Balls that are able to withstand pressures at 1,000 Giga Pascals (GPa)? That is equivalent to about 3,000 adult African elephants all standing on a single stiletto heel. Geophysicists also use the GPa in measuring or calculating tectonic plate stresses and pressures within the Earth. The pascal is an International System of Units of pressure used to quantify internal pressure or ultimate tensile strength of a substance. So, 1 GPa is 1,000,000,000 Pa. It is named after the French mathematician Blaise Pascal. Normal diamond crystals, one of the hardest materials on Earth would disintegrate at 120 GPa. This article takes us into the search and possible application of such material.

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http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160818-the-quest-to-make-a-crystal-harder-than-diamonds