Nature's strongest material now has some stiff competition. For the first time, researchers have hard evidence that human-made hexagonal diamonds are stiffer than the common cubic diamonds found in nature and often used in ...
Condensed Matter
Mar 31, 2021
4
8028
(PhysOrg.com) -- Two new types of ultra-hard carbon crystals have been found by researchers investigating the ureilite class Haverö meteorite that crashed to Earth in Finland in 1971. Ureilite meteorites are carbon-rich ...
The colloidal diamond has been a dream of researchers since the 1990s. These structures—stable, self-assembled formations of miniscule materials—have the potential to make light waves as useful as electrons in computing, ...
General Physics
Sep 23, 2020
4
1570
A diamond lasts forever, but that doesn't mean all diamonds have a common history.
Earth Sciences
Dec 21, 2020
2
298
(PhysOrg.com) -- Diamond is best known for being a prized gem and the hardest cutting element available, but now thanks to research being carried out at Macquarie University it is also proving to be a super efficient laser ...
Optics & Photonics
Apr 22, 2010
6
0
Along with being a "girl's best friend," diamonds also have remarkable properties that could make them ideal semiconductors. This is welcome news for electronics; semiconductors are needed to meet the rising demand for more ...
Condensed Matter
May 24, 2016
0
843
(Phys.org) -- Credit cards which are completely fraud-proof and passports which cannot be forged: quantum physics could make both of these possible. This is explained by the fact that the quantum mechanical state of a particle, ...
Quantum Physics
Jun 19, 2012
10
0
Superhard materials can slice, drill and polish other objects. They also hold potential for creating scratch-resistant coatings that could help keep expensive equipment safe from damage.
Materials Science
Sep 9, 2019
0
1015
(PhysOrg.com) -- In the search for superconductors, finding ways to compress hydrogen into a metal has been a point of focus ever since scientists predicted many years ago that electricity would flow, uninhibited, through ...
Superconductivity
Jun 13, 2011
9
0
Around 100 years ago a father and his son in north England conducted an experiment that would revolutionise the way scientists study molecules. A refined version of their method still remains one of the most important tools ...
General Physics
Feb 4, 2014
1
0
