Diamond - Hardest Mineral on Earth

Derived from the Greek word "Adamas" which means unconquerable or everlasting, diamond has long been considered as the most loved gemstone on Earth.  It has been sought after, fought over, fancied and even used to cast love spells in the early years.  It has been beloved as an unmatched gemstone since its early use as an idol in the Indian religion and it was only in the 19th century that the adoration of this material has multiplied due to a few developments.  The improved cutting and polishing techniques, including the improvement of the global economy in the 19th century, have added much to the gain in popularity of the diamond.

Typically, diamond is a polymorph of carbon, the chemical element that holds an important and major piece to all life.  It is carbon in its most close-woven form, but unlike its close cousin, graphite, diamond possesses a number of varied structures and extreme characteristics that make it a popular gemstone with fabulous shimmer and grandeur.

There is much to be said about the characteristics of diamond.  This natural mineral actually is known around the planet as the hardest material found on the globe.  It is four times harder than the corundum (sapphire and ruby), which is the next hardest natural mineral. Several scholars have also stressed that diamond is an undeniable 10, achieving that number which characterizes the top of the Mohs scale of mineral density.  It also has an absolute hardness value of between 167 and 231 gigapascals, and it is with this quality that diamond is named as such, “the hardest mineral on the planet”.

Outside of density, diamond is strongly worshipped for its optical characteristics. In accordance with several studies, this carbon polymorph has a high dispersion of discernible light.  It breaks up white light effortlessly into its element colors, and it is this certain attribute that makes it an immensely valued gemstone.  It is also this feature that gives it the so-called magnificent "prismatic" action that is said to result in fire, especially if the stone is well cut.

The diamond has other notable electromagnetic attributes outside of its being fluorescent.  In the first place, this gemstone is said to be a good electrical insulator, except for most blue diamonds that are celebrated for being great semiconductors.  It is also an alright conductor of heat despite its being an electrical insulator.   Well, this property resulted from its having a forceful covalent bonding within the crystal, and it’s interesting to know that because of its high thermal conductance, diamond is now used by many semiconductor manufacturers for one particular mission - to hinder the silicon and other semi-conducting materials from overheating.

With such properties, it’s no wonder that diamond for quite some time has been held in high regard and appreciated commercially around the planet.  This has never been more true than today.  There are more and more applications using diamonds and their unique attributes.  The demand for diamonds simply keeps going higher and higher.