That is, it is easily breakable by a hammer. The toughness of diamond is about 2.0 MPa which is good compared to other gemstones, but poor compared to most engineering materials. [links]
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That is, it is easily breakable by a hammer. The toughness of diamond is about 2.0 MPa which is good compared to other gemstones, but poor compared to most engineering materials. [links]
A normal hammer hitting at 10 km/s? That will still break every known chemically bonded material. – Dirk Bruere more
The reason for this unintuitive behavior is that applying a force to an object generally will accelerate that object. But the atoms of an object can only transfer a very small amount of force to other atoms. If you have apply force locally and there are not enough atoms to distribute that force over, they'll break the bonds with their neighbours. If that happens on a macroscopic scale, the object breaks.
Different sources across the internet mention different things. Some say it will and some say it won't if it is real. However, Wikipedia says that it will break. [links]
Because diamonds are ranked hardest on the Mohs scale, a real diamond should scratch glass. If your stone does not leave a scratch on the glass, it is most likely a fake. If it does leave a scratch, proceed with some additional tests because some synthetic diamonds will also scratch glass. [links]
Can a diamond be broken by a hammer? Simple answer – yes. Diamonds can be chipped by ordinary wear and tear. But being the hardest gemstone in the world, it only shows what could happen to anything else. more
That is, it is easily breakable by a hammer.
If you heat diamond in the open air, it will start to burn at around 700 degrees Celsius (1,292 degrees Fahrenheit), reacting with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide gas. Despite this, scientists found a way to melt diamond. [links]
If you can crush it with a pliers, it’s fake. If you can’t crush it, it’s real, or you just have a really weak grip. You can also use a hammer to try crushing an alleged diamond. But if you only want it if it’s a diamond, this method is fine. more
In place of burying carbon 100 miles beneath the surface where it is 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit, exposing it to the extreme pressure of 725,000 pounds per square inch, and expelling it at incredible speed towards the surface, intense pressure and heat is “simply” applied to graphite in a process that can take just a few here
Compared to other gemstones, they’re more difficult to chip than something like Opal, which is an extremely fragile gemstone..
However, that just means that they’re difficult (but possible) to scratch and chip on the surface.
Can acid dissolve diamonds? … No, acids cannot dissolve diamonds, for the simple reason that a diamonds carbon atoms are too tightly packed together for the Hydrogen ions to be able to dissolve the substance.
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His favorite vintage jewelry era is the Art Deco Era and his favorite type of stone is the Kashmir Sapphire. He also collects rare antique pins.
In some instances, examination of a rough diamond can take weeks or months before choosing a particular cleave line. This is especially true for exceptional diamonds, such as those commissioned for a specific purpose. more
Benjamin Khordipour is one of the researchers and gemologists at Estate Diamond Jewelry. He received his gemological degrees from both GIA and GUBELIN.
This makes steel incredibly strong and infinitely workable. Diamonds, because of their lack of flexibility in the structure, are not actually very strong at all.
These weaknesses, whilst reasonably easy to exploit in large, rough stones, are still present in polished diamonds. Because of the structure of the diamond mentioned above, there is always a risk of impact chipping the stone. It doesn’t even need to be an especially high impact or even on an especially hard surface. Just clipping the diamond at exactly the right angle could spit it in two. more
The sad fact is that chipped or broken diamonds can’t be repaired. You have the choice of whether to live with a damaged stone or replace it. It’s also unlikely that your chipped diamond will have much of a trade-in value. Depending on the size of the stone and the location of the chip, it may be possible that the diamond can be re-cut. However, unless it is a pretty large diamond and pretty superficial damage, you would be lucky to realize more than $100 for any chipped diamond. [links]
If you were to take a hammer or another blunt object and hit the diamond directly along the cleavage pattern, it would actually shatter without too much effort (but still some). That’s why you hear these weird stories about diamond jewelry breaking and people trying to claim the jewelry to be fake. In reality, they probably dropped it or smashed it against something at the wrong angle. Granted, these angles are very precise and the farther off the angle, the more difficult it is to shatter. more
Hardness refers to how close together the molecules on the outside of the diamond are, as well as how stable they are. And yes, diamonds are extremely hard. However, that just means that they’re difficult (but possible) to scratch and chip on the surface. Compared to other gemstones, they’re more difficult to chip than something like Opal, which is an extremely fragile gemstone.
Every diamond has 4 cleavage directions, which you can sometimes see if you examine the diamond closely enough. It’s much easier to see in normal gemstones such as quartz where there will be lines inside the gemstone. Those are referred to as cleavage patterns.
One of the most common misnomers regarding diamonds is that people think they’re impossible to break. They reference it being one of the hardest materials on earth and assume you can’t smash it into bits. That’s where most of the confusion lies; in the hardness of a diamond. [links]
However, if you took a hammer and hit a diamond at the right angle, it would easily shatter. Why is that? Well, diamonds have something called cleavage patterns. Without getting too technical, it’s the angle at which it crystallizes. [links]
So if someone ever dares you to hit your diamond ring with a hammer, give them a stern “no”, wag a finger at them in discontentment and hit them with your newfound knowledge of diamonds. [links]