Mazanec
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2004
Posts: 355
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Post by Mazanec on Apr 26, 2004 10:05:57 GMT -5
You think we will ever have an abrasive which is harder than diamond?
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donwrob
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2003
Posts: 509
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Post by donwrob on Apr 26, 2004 10:55:07 GMT -5
Well, my wife tells me that my head may in fact be even harder than diamond.....who'd a thunk?
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SirRoxalot
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 790
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Post by SirRoxalot on Apr 26, 2004 15:14:23 GMT -5
A very, very interesting field. Have you heard of the new diamond growing process which yields facet-grade diamonds that are actually quite a bit harder than natural diamonds?
Also, while I can't recall the specifics, I seem to recall that while diamond remains the hardest natural substance known, it is not the hardest known substance. Try Google.
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Post by cookie3rocks on Apr 26, 2004 18:45:02 GMT -5
I had heard about the new diamond growing prosses ( and you can't really call it synthetic, theyr'e really diamonds) but did not realize they were actually harder than the natural kind. Lots of implima, implimin, ah heck,uses for that!
cookie
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Post by Tom on Jun 20, 2004 8:54:03 GMT -5
Diamond is the hardest known mineral but it is brittle. You can shatter a diamond with a hammer. Jade, while not nearly as hard a diamond, is tough. The ancient Chinese used jade to make anvils.
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Mazanec
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2004
Posts: 355
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Post by Mazanec on Jun 20, 2004 12:47:23 GMT -5
Interesting. Jade is two minerals and approaches quartz in hardness.
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rollingstone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2009
Posts: 236
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Post by rollingstone on Jun 20, 2004 18:37:43 GMT -5
I did a search...seems diamond is still number one for hardness, but cubic boron nitride and boron suboxide are artificial materials that take the number 2 and 3 spots, after diamond (number 1).
Interestingly, diamond-tipped blades can cut through anything (even other diamonds) except steel...diamonds dissolve in hot iron.
As for will something ever be made that is harder than diamond...I think that's still an open question, but people are working on it.
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