Friday, January 29, 2010

Diamonds Become Stronger When Squeezed Rapidly Under Extreme Conditions

Time-integrated photograph of an OMEGA laser shot (43633) to measure high-pressure diamond strength. The diamond target is at the center, surrounded by various diagnostics. The bright white light is ablated plasma, and radial yellow lines are tracks of hot target fragments very late in time. (Credit: Photo by Eugene Kowaluk/LLE)

From Science Daily:

Science Daily (Jan. 27, 2010) — Most people know that diamond is one of the hardest solids on Earth, so strong that it can easily cut through glass and steel.

Surprisingly, very little is known about the strength of diamond at extreme conditions. But new research by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists shows that diamond becomes even stronger during rapid compression.

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