[Science Geeks] : Diamond is no longer the hardest substance

You said hard.

 

Thanks a bit to Rice's geeks? Carbon 60 (what the Germans made this out of) was discovered by Rice geeks, so I think you can thank them more than just a bit.

by the way - Germans' heads have always been harder than diamonds. (I can say that b/c my family is German.)

 

ok i thought that was interesting, I'm a Geek

 

No. Trust me.

There is something else.

 

The title is a bit misleading. The newly created material is still diamond - aka "aggregated diamond nanorods." In other words, it's a diamond (derivative) with a novel crytal structure.

 

Did someone say GERMANS?

 

Thanks I needed to see that this morning.

 

Worlds hardest substance now belongs to Sir Jackie Chiles.

 

Kobe breakin out the checkbook.

 

Buckyballs (ie carbon-60) ond other forms of fullerines have been around and known to have a greater hardness and higher tensile strength since the early 90's when they were discovered.



Thats what all the predictions about carbon nanotubes and super strong materials was all about in the 90's. This isn't exactly some suprising bit of info or unexpected development.

 

Hmmm, my vague memory (from one of the chemistry seminars I had years ago) about the buckyball tells me that it has very desirable lubricating property, among other things, but hardness isn't one of them.

 

Carbon nanotubes are the same structure as buckyballs. In saying buckyballs I should have said fullerines. I use the words interchangably in my mind when in fact buckyballs are a type of fullerine. Buckyballs lubricate because they are compact round 60 atom units and therefore really small balls, like atomic ball berings. If you could strech the sphere into a discrete cylinder with spherical ends you get nanotubes, which are really strong fullerine fibers.

Granted, tensile strengh and hardness aren't the same thing, but I have seen similar predictions for material hardness from fullerines for many years.

 

Did someone say HARD?

 

Wow, you must be a geek if that gets hot.

 

Crack rock?

 

More likely amphetamines ~ the Germans are really into this stuff - much like suspended German cyclist/ national hero/ amphetamine abuser Jan Ullrich.