Material properties of diamond Material properties of diamond Diamond is the allotrope of carbon in which the carbon atoms are arranged in the specific type of cubic lattice called diamond cubic. Diamond is an optically isotropic crystal that is transparent to opaque. Diamond is the hardest naturally occurring material known. Yet, due to important structural weaknesses, diamond's toughness is only fair to good. The precise tensile strength of diamond is unknown, however strength up to 60 GPa has been observed, and it could be as high as 90–225 GPa depending on the crystal orientation. The anisotropy of diamond hardness is carefully considered during diamond
Anisodesmic crystal anion equals the charge on that anion." When there is more than one type of bonding in a crystal, strongly anisotropic physical properties can result such as those of graphite. Many other substances have anisotropic physical properties. Such properties are directly related to the atomic structures of the substances. Conversely, halite is an example of an isotropic crystal with equal hardness in all directions. Anisodesmic crystal An anisodesmic crystal (sometimes anisodemic crystal) is a crystal containing bonds with differing electrostatic valencies. All other crystals are known as isodesmic crystals (or isodemic) and examples include diamond and halite. These terms are