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.
Because the arrangement of atoms in diamond is extremely rigid, few types of
impurity can contaminate it (two exceptions being boron and nitrogen). Small
numbers of defects or impurities (about one per million of lattice atoms) color
diamond blue (boron), yellow (nitrogen), brown (defects), green (radiation
exposure), purple, pink, orange or red. Diamond also has relatively high optical
dispersion (ability to disperse light of different colors).
Most natural diamonds have ages between 1 billion and 3.5 billion years. Most
were formed at depths between 150 and 250 kilometres (93 and 155 mi) in the
Earth's mantle, although a few have come from as deep as 800 kilometres
(500 mi). Under high pressure and temperature, carbon-containing fluids
dissolved minerals and replaced them with diamonds. Much more recently (tens
to hundreds of million years ago), they were carried to the surface in volcanic
eruptions and deposited in igneous rocks known as kimberlites and lamproites.
Synthetic diamonds can be grown from high-purity carbon under high pressures
and temperatures or from hydrocarbon gas by chemical vapor
deposition (CVD). Imitation diamonds can also be made out of materials such
as cubic zirconia and silicon carbide. Natural, synthetic and imitation diamonds
are most commonly distinguished using optical techniques or thermal
conductivity measurements.
Diamond is a solid form of pure carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal. Solid
carbon comes in different forms known as allotropes depending on the type of
chemical bond. The two most common allotropes of pure carbon are diamond
and graphite. In graphite the bonds are sp 2 orbital hybrids and the atoms form in
planes with each bound to three nearest neighbors 120 degrees apart. In
diamond they are sp3 and the atoms form tetrahedra with each bound to four
nearest neighbors.[3][4] Tetrahedra are rigid, the bonds are strong, and of all
known substances diamond has the greatest number of atoms per unit volume,
which is why it is both the hardest and the least compressible.[5][6] It also has a
high density, ranging from 3150 to 3530 kilograms per cubic metre (over three
times the density of water) in natural diamonds and 3520 kg/m³ in pure
diamond.[1] In graphite, the bonds between nearest neighbors are even stronger
but the bonds between planes are weak, so the planes can easily slip past each
other. Thus, graphite is much softer than diamond. However, the stronger bonds
make graphite less flammable.[7]
Diamonds have been adapted for many uses because of the material's
exceptional physical characteristics. Of all known substances, it is the hardest
and least compressible. It has the highest thermal conductivity and the highest
sound velocity. It has low adhesion and friction, and its coefficient of thermal
expansion is extremely low. Its optical transparency extends from the far
infrared to the deep ultraviolet and it has high optical dispersion. It also has high
electrical resistance. It is chemically inert, not reacting with most corrosive
substances, and has excellent biological compatibility. [8]