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> In fact, diamond is the hardest substance known to man, there is literally nothing we could use that could offer more protection. With such nonsense it is ha

> In fact, diamond is the hardest substance known to man, there is literally nothing we could use that could offer more protection. With such nonsense it is hard to believe the rest of the article. Heat a diamond and it will burn releasing CO2 into the air, smash it with a hammer and it will burst in million parts. Small particles and gasses are very easy to ingest.

marcosdumay 10y ago
> Heat a diamond and it will burn releasing CO2 into the air I bet you have never tried that. Heat a diamond enough (what it a lot), and it will turn into graphite (layer by layer), a substance usually used for heat protection since is one of the solid materials we have around that survive the hightest temperatures. Also, hit it with a big enough hammer, and yes, it will smash. It will also press a dent on your hammer.
- joezydeco 10y ago
  A material can be "hard" but also be brittle. Diamond is one of these substances. You don't need a large hammer to crack or destroy one. Ask any jeweler.
  - logfromblammo 10y ago
    Diamond has perfect cleavage in four directions. If you want a mineral that you can really pound on without it breaking, you want nephrite. The Maori made war clubs out of it. Bring a diamond to a nephrite fight, and you're going to end up in the stewpot. If you need hardness and toughness, corundum is what you want.
  - randall 10y ago
    This is what makes me think it's probably going to be used in pacemakers / satellites, rather than phones. Imagine the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco with radioactive isotopes. Tesla has this problem too. They shield the underside of the car now, but imagine if you accidentally punctured the diamond. It'd likely shatter and spread radioactive material everywhere. It could be awesome in non-touchable contexts though.
imaginenore 10y ago
Also there are materials harder than diamond: mineral lonsdaleite, wurtzite boron nitride, aggregated carbon nanorods.

marcosdumay 10y ago

> Heat a diamond and it will burn releasing CO2 into the air I bet you have never tried that. Heat a diamond enough (what it a lot), and it will turn into graphite (layer by layer), a substance usually used for heat protection since is one of the solid materials we have around that survive the hightest temperatures. Also, hit it with a big enough hammer, and yes, it will smash. It will also press a dent on your hammer.

joezydeco 10y ago
A material can be "hard" but also be brittle. Diamond is one of these substances. You don't need a large hammer to crack or destroy one. Ask any jeweler.
- logfromblammo 10y ago
  Diamond has perfect cleavage in four directions. If you want a mineral that you can really pound on without it breaking, you want nephrite. The Maori made war clubs out of it. Bring a diamond to a nephrite fight, and you're going to end up in the stewpot. If you need hardness and toughness, corundum is what you want.
- randall 10y ago
  This is what makes me think it's probably going to be used in pacemakers / satellites, rather than phones. Imagine the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco with radioactive isotopes. Tesla has this problem too. They shield the underside of the car now, but imagine if you accidentally punctured the diamond. It'd likely shatter and spread radioactive material everywhere. It could be awesome in non-touchable contexts though.

imaginenore 10y ago

Also there are materials harder than diamond: mineral lonsdaleite, wurtzite boron nitride, aggregated carbon nanorods.