ed84c Posted July 24, 2004 Posted July 24, 2004 no, bucky balls form just by burning carbon. And 1 in 1,000,000 form around a helium atom, which is significant, but i dont know why......
YT2095 Posted July 24, 2004 Posted July 24, 2004 so far the topic has revolved around diamond being the HARDEST material/substance, rather than the "Strongest" as mentioned in the title. here`s my suggestion for the "Strongest", Spider Web! yeah seriously! it`s kicks ass outa kevlar or steel for the strongest, it`s not as "hard" as diamond (but then the topic wasn`t about hardness). I`de hazzard to say that spider web polymers are stronger than diamond for taking a bullet! as for the "Universe" bit, well that`s basicly ANYONES guess since we really only know a tiny portion about it, but here on Earth, my money would go on Web
ed84c Posted July 24, 2004 Posted July 24, 2004 im going for a neutron star or singularity, but there really isnt much (or any) of a singularity volume to use...., so use one of those if you want to build a bridge (it may destroy the earth though.... if that big). Gravity in such high quantities would surely make it stronger than mere chemical bonds?!
ed84c Posted July 24, 2004 Posted July 24, 2004 that is it would need be under imense pressure to stop it from reveting to a liquid as on teh surface of a neutron star
YT2095 Posted July 24, 2004 Posted July 24, 2004 it`s "Substance" that`s the issue here though, forces are a different kettle of fish
budullewraagh Posted July 24, 2004 Posted July 24, 2004 actually buckminsterfullerene is the scientific name although the merck index uses soccerballene as a synonym. it actually is C60
apathy Posted July 26, 2004 Posted July 26, 2004 eh, you can throw fullerenes into the graphite pile, since it's just glorified graphite anyway one thing about graphite is not it's hardness but it's "toughness" along the x,y (in the graphene plane) graphite is very very strong that's why members of our group make nano-sized graphite plates and blend them into polymers, if you have the platelets covalently bound to the epoxy resin, it increases the toughness (and Young's modulus, etc) quite a bit (and makes it black)
JaKiri Posted July 26, 2004 Posted July 26, 2004 where does buckyball/buckminsterfullerene/soccerballerene/C60 rank in comparison to diamond? Pretty damn badly. Diamond is so strong because it's a giant covalent compound, whereas C60 is molecular covalent. Nanotubes are a better diamond comparison.
pulkit Posted July 27, 2004 Posted July 27, 2004 one thing about graphite is not it's hardness but it's "toughness" along the x,y (in the graphene plane) graphite is very very strong that's why members of our group make nano-sized graphite plates and blend them into polymers, if you have the platelets covalently bound to the epoxy resin, it increases the toughness (and Young's modulus, etc) quite a bit (and makes it black) Not surprising considering the internal structure of graphite
DrDNA Posted September 14, 2007 Posted September 14, 2007 If you are refering specifically to tensile strength, the carbon nanotubes win. If you are refering specifically to hardness (as in resistance to scratching), then diamonds win but some boron nitride compound is supposed almost as hard (and can form similar structures to cabon).
insane_alien Posted September 14, 2007 Posted September 14, 2007 dude, this thread ended in 2004 a lot of these people don't even come to the forums anymore.
Martin Posted September 14, 2007 Posted September 14, 2007 If you are refering specifically to tensile strength, the carbon nanotubes win.If you are refering specifically to hardness (as in resistance to scratching), then diamonds win but some boron nitride compound is supposed almost as hard (and can form similar structures to cabon). whether or not the thread stagnated in 2004 still Dr.D had something to say. Thanks for making the distinction DrDNA. Would you like to comment on compressive strength? The original poster said "strongest" which is real vague unless you define different kinds of strength----hardness, tensile, compression etc. I guess neutron matter that the cores of some stars are made of would be in the running for some category. Welcome DrDNA if nobody said it yet
DrDNA Posted September 14, 2007 Posted September 14, 2007 Yeah. Insane A, for all you know I've been waiting for 3 years to get that off my chest. Man, do I feel better now. Whew, what a relief! Thanks for the welcome Martin. Very kind of you. BTW: I have absolutely no idea what is in the core of a neutron star (I'm just a chemist- the kind that deals with organic matter)......I just know it is probably very hot and inhospitable there....probably too hot and inhospitable for any biological or bioorganic molecules to exist....
dichotomy Posted September 17, 2007 Posted September 17, 2007 Can Waterjet Cutting Technology produce a water jet that is harder than diamond?
Mr Skeptic Posted September 17, 2007 Posted September 17, 2007 I believe that Aggregated Diamond Nanorods are the hardest known substance (they were discovered recently btw). A neutron star is probably "harder" but I would not want to go test. But diamond, and I think also the nanorod form, will shatter if you hit it with a hammer. If you could make a composite of diamond nanorods and carbon nanotubes, it would probably be pretty tough. I think carbon is the strongest material possible (by weight), because it is the lightest element that can form 4 bonds. Anyone know if this is true?
Sjcs Posted October 4, 2007 Posted October 4, 2007 As far as ive read (and this is by no means comprehensive) there are substances harder than diamond, even by the Mohs scale, but diamond has its reputation because it is the hardest naturally occurring substance. But then, what counts as naturally occurring? something could be naturally occurring in the middle of a star, or in some other exceptional situation. maybe it was 'occurring on earth'. something like that Edit: Ha, it seems ive given this thread a second resurrection.
fattyjwoods Posted October 5, 2007 Posted October 5, 2007 they probably are the hardest, But i think they are easily shattered (heard it somewhere i forgot where)
xnebulalordx676 Posted October 3, 2008 Posted October 3, 2008 The boron on tooth enamel or a human thigh I thought those were the hardest of the body. But of the universe that's too large a question for an earthling due to the undiscovered or else undisclosed materials that might be floating around out here. Diamonds are they hardest on earth well I think they are one of the most powerful (lasers) but not sure about hardness. I'll read up more.
Gilded Posted October 4, 2008 Posted October 4, 2008 Rhenium diboride is harder than "normal" diamond, but AFAIK the diamond nanorods are even harder.
jrayj Posted October 22, 2008 Posted October 22, 2008 Yeah plain diamonds are not the strongest substance in the universe.
redsaint63 Posted October 24, 2008 Posted October 24, 2008 If they ever find a rock with a tubuler moleculer structure that would be the hardest substance unlike diamonds hexagonal framework.
big314mp Posted October 24, 2008 Posted October 24, 2008 Diamond doesn't actually have a hexagonal structure. Graphite does, and that might be what you are thinking off. Diamond has a tetrahedral type structure, where every carbon is bonded to four other carbons at 109.5 deg angles to each other.
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