Diamonds are regarded to be the hardest natural minerals on earth. Able to cut and scratch other materials with almost no effort, diamonds have long been admired and coveted for their durability, sparkle, and rarity. However, there is one mineral that holds an even greater reputation of hardness than diamonds: wurtzite boron nitride.
Wurtzite boron nitride was first synthesized artificially in 1957 by a team at the General Electric Research Laboratory in New York City. It is made up of equal parts of boron and nitrogen atoms arranged in a crystal structure that gives it its trademark toughness. This hexagonal lattice arrangement forms like two interpenetrating diamond lattices stacked on top of each other but rotated along the crystallographic axis.
The discovery of Wurtzite Boron Nitride put scientists in awe because it is a chemical compound found only as microscopic grains or small crystals: rocks tend not to grow bigger than around half-a-millimetre (0.02 inches) across. Thus making this mineral incredibly rare; however, vast amounts appeared inside a new type recently discovered called Cycloberollitriene Carbon (CBT).
The unique structure and bonding within wurtzite boron nitride make it harder than diamond when subjected to certain types of stress. While diamonds rank 10 on Mohs Scale – which measures a material’s hardness based on how much force is required to scratch it – wurtzite boron nitride comes in at around 13-14Gpa while nanotubes form can register estimates up to 63 GPa.
Hardness doesn’t refer solely to resistance against scratching; still used alongside determining resistivity towards erosion due shear pressure over time for products such as wear-resistant coating or drill-bits distributed through industry verticals including aviation, medicine among others from aforementioned higher-higher melting point temperature tolerance beyond what existing materials delaminating at .
Wurtzite boron nitride can withstand higher temperatures up to (at least) 2,400 degrees Celsius before it begins to decompose — another reason why it can be beneficial for friction-resistance coatings such as in drill bits and cutting tools by increasing their durability.
Another unique property of wurtzite boron nitride is its electrical conductivity. Unlike diamonds that are insulators, Wuritsite Boron Nitrides come across as semiconductors depending upon the nature its production process delivered. These characteristics provide important features when designing electronic devices with superior performance.
Moreover, researchers have christened this super-hard mineral “white diamond”, characterized easy implementation under room-temperature stressors though found only from one location thus urging scientists far and wide towards discovery of new materials that could potentially surpass the existing toughness-index given their heavy need applied universally developed products. There’s so much more exciting research on this space-age manufacturing material!
In conclusion, while diamonds are still considered the hardest naturally occurring minerals on earth, wurtzite boron nitride has taken over as being even harder due to its unique atomic lattice structure and inherent resilience against high heat/pressure exposure whilst offering exceptional applications in fields including aviation & medicine among others through extreme-versatile use-cases possible supplementing an era further evolution driven by technological advancement.
Diamonds have long been revered for their exceptional hardness, durability, and rarity. They are considered to be the hardest naturally occurring minerals on earth and are capable of cutting and scratching other materials with almost no effort. However, a mineral known as wurtzite boron nitride has now surpassed diamonds in terms of hardness.
Wurtzite boron nitride was first synthesized artificially in 1957 by a team at the General Electric Research Laboratory in New York City. It is made up of equal parts of boron and nitrogen atoms arranged in a unique crystal structure that gives it its trademark toughness. This hexagonal lattice arrangement forms like two interpenetrating diamond lattices stacked on top of each other but rotated along the crystallographic axis.
This mineral was discovered to be extremely rare because it is only found as microscopic grains or small crystals since rocks tend not to grow bigger than around half-a-millimetre (0.02 inches) across; however, vast amounts were identified inside a newly-discovered type called Cycloberollitriene Carbon (CBT).
The unique atomic lattice structure within wurtzite boron nitride makes it even harder than diamonds when subjected to certain types of stress. While diamonds rank 10 on Mohs Scale – which measures a material’s hardness based on how much force is required to scratch it – wurtzite boron nitride comes in at around 13-14Gpa while nanotubes form can register estimates up to 63 GPa.
However, hardness does not refer solely to resistance against scratching; still used alongside determining resistivity towards erosion due shear pressure over time for products such as wear-resistant coating or drill-bits distributed through industry verticals including aviation medicine among others from aforementioned higher melting point temperature tolerance beyond what existing materials delaminating at will resist .
Wurtzite boron nitride can withstand higher temperatures up to (at least) 2,400 degrees Celsius before beginning to decompose. This makes it an ideal material for friction-resistance coatings such as those found in cutting tools and drill bits that need increased durability.
Another remarkable property of wurtzite boron nitride is its electrical conductivity. Unlike diamonds that are insulators, Wuritsite Boron Nitrides come across as semiconductors depending upon the nature of their production process delivered. These characteristics provide important features when designing electronic devices with superior performance.
Researchers have nicknamed this super-hard mineral “white diamond” because it can be easily implemented under room-temperature stressors despite being found in just one location. The discovery of new materials could potentially surpass the existing toughness-index given their heavy demand applied universally developed products including extreme-functionalities possible supplementing era’s evolution driven by technological advancement.
In conclusion, although diamonds continue to be admired for their unique properties and rarity on earth, wurtzite boron nitride has now surpassed them regarding hardness due to its exceptional atomic lattice structure and resilience against high heat/pressure exposure while providing outstanding use-cases in aviation & medicine among others through versatile use-cases offered at a molecular level advancements moving research further ahead towards excellence never seen before increasing reliability, efficiency levels enduring quality assurance benefiting mankind globally leading into newer realms of transformative technology improvements so far uncharted territories beyond previous known frontiers shattering misconceptions within science realms once again confirming greatness would always triumph over obscurity breakthroughs!