Chemical element more than one way, allowing the pure element to exist in multiple chemical structures (spatial arrangements of atoms), known as allotropes, which differ in their properties. For example, carbon can be found as diamond, which has a tetrahedral structure around each carbon atom; graphite, which has layers of carbon atoms with a hexagonal structure stacked on top of each other; graphene, which is a single layer of graphite that is very strong; fullerenes, which have nearly spherical shapes; and carbon nanotubes, which are tubes with a hexagonal structure (even these may differ from each other in electrical properties). The ability
Synthetic diamond Synthetic diamond A synthetic diamond (also known as a laboratory-grown diamond, cultured diamond, or cultivated diamond) is a diamond produced by a controlled process, as contrasted with a natural diamond created by geological processes or an imitation diamond made of non-diamond material that appears similar to a diamond. Synthetic diamond is also widely known as HPHT diamond or CVD diamond, after the two common production methods (referring to the high-pressure high-temperature and chemical vapor deposition crystal formation methods, respectively). While the term "synthetic" may sometimes be associated by consumers with imitation products, synthetic diamonds are made of the same material