Diamond Diamond 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
Mineral each of which is distinguished from the others by unique chemical and physical properties. For example, quartz is defined by its formula, SiO, and a specific crystalline structure that distinguishes it from other minerals with the same chemical formula (termed polymorphs). When there exists a range of composition between two minerals species, a mineral series is defined. For example, the biotite series is represented by variable amounts of the endmembers phlogopite, siderophyllite, annite, and eastonite. In contrast, a mineral group is a grouping of mineral species with some common chemical properties that share a crystal structure. The pyroxene group has