Diamond The slightly misshapen octahedral shape of this rough diamond crystal in matrix is typical of the mineral. Its lustrous faces also indicate that this crystal is from a primary deposit.
General Category Native minerals Formula (repeating unit) C Strunz classification 1.CB.10a Dana classification 1.3.6.1 Crystal symmetry F d3 m (No. 227)Identification Formula mass 6998120100000000000♠ 12.01 g/mol Color Typically yellow, brown, or gray to colorless. Less often blue, green, black, translucent white, pink, violet, orange, purple, and red. Crystal habit Octahedral Crystal system Cubic Twinning Spinel law common (yielding "macle") Cleavage 111 (perfect in four directions) Fracture Irregular/Uneven Mohs scale hardness10 (defining mineral) Luster Adamantine Streak Colorless Diaphaneity Transparent to subtransparent to translucentSpecific gravity 7000352000000000000♠ 3.52± 0.01Density 3.5–7003353000000000000♠ 3.53 g/cm3 Polish luster Adamantine Optical properties Isotropic Refractive index 2.418 (at 500 nm) Birefringence None Pleochroism None Dispersion 0.044 Melting point Pressure dependent References [1] [2]
Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic . At room temperature and pressure , another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form, but diamond almost never converts to it. Diamond has the highest hardness and thermal conductivity of any natural material, properties that are utilized in major industrial applications such as cutting and polishing tools. They are also the reason that diamond anvil cells can subject materials to pressures found deep in the Earth .
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