1 00:00:00,880 --> 00:00:04,520 Speaker 1: Hey, welcome to Sign Stuff, a production of iHeartRadio. I'm 2 00:00:04,559 --> 00:00:07,720 Speaker 1: More hitch Ham, and today we are answering a really 3 00:00:07,880 --> 00:00:12,119 Speaker 1: hard question, maybe the hardest we've ever tried to answer, 4 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:17,599 Speaker 1: which is is there anything harder than diamonds? Okay, that 5 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:20,320 Speaker 1: was a silly pun, but we've all heard the slogans 6 00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:24,439 Speaker 1: the diamond is forever, it's a girl's best friend. But 7 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:27,640 Speaker 1: it's a diamond? Really that sturdy? Let break if I 8 00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:30,520 Speaker 1: hit it with the hammer? What happens if I stick 9 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:33,279 Speaker 1: one in the oven? We're going to talk to an 10 00:00:33,280 --> 00:00:36,040 Speaker 1: expert on heart materials and we're going to ask her 11 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:40,480 Speaker 1: all the tough questions. See I could have said hard, 12 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:44,080 Speaker 1: but I didn't. Anyways, get ready to quit our ring 13 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:47,559 Speaker 1: on it as we bling out and find out is 14 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:58,160 Speaker 1: there anything harder than diamonds? Enjoy? Hey everyone, Today we're 15 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:02,520 Speaker 1: answering a pretty basic question, which is are diamonds the 16 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:06,959 Speaker 1: hardest material known to humans? Now, for this episode, I 17 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:10,800 Speaker 1: interviewed a really cool expert, Professor Jody Bradby, from the 18 00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:13,720 Speaker 1: Australian National University, and I learned a lot of cool 19 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:17,480 Speaker 1: things about diamonds I didn't know before, Like, for example, 20 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:19,920 Speaker 1: did you know you can make a diamond out of 21 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:25,000 Speaker 1: peanut butter. Yeah, this is something scientists actually tested and 22 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:29,200 Speaker 1: it's true. Okay, I'm gonna let doctor Bradby explain it. 23 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:33,319 Speaker 2: I'm Professor Jody Bradby. I'm head of a high pressure 24 00:01:33,319 --> 00:01:35,759 Speaker 2: physics group at the Australian National University. 25 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:38,280 Speaker 1: Great. Now, when you say it's high pressure, is it 26 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:41,000 Speaker 1: like there's a lot of pressure on everyone working there or. 27 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:44,959 Speaker 2: There are so many puns. In my fields, we have 28 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:50,639 Speaker 2: a high stress environment. Yeah, definitely, but we create really 29 00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:52,880 Speaker 2: high pressures to make new materials. 30 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:56,000 Speaker 1: Oh, very exciting. So today we're trying to answer the 31 00:01:56,080 --> 00:01:59,640 Speaker 1: question is there anything harder than diamonds? So I thought 32 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:02,000 Speaker 1: we could start having you talked to us just about 33 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:05,480 Speaker 1: diamonds themselves. What makes diamonds so hard? 34 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:11,079 Speaker 2: Yeah, So basically diamond consists of carbon atoms. So if 35 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:15,040 Speaker 2: you arrange the carbon atoms in a particular crystal structure, 36 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:16,959 Speaker 2: then that's what makes the diamond. 37 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:19,800 Speaker 1: How do the atoms get into a crystal structure? 38 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:23,120 Speaker 2: Okay, so you get your carbon atoms, and now we've 39 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:25,679 Speaker 2: got to do something to trick those carbon atoms to 40 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:30,320 Speaker 2: form a crystal lattice. So nature uses two things to 41 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:33,200 Speaker 2: do this. It uses temperature and pressure, so we have 42 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:37,200 Speaker 2: to have really high pressures and really high temperatures. So 43 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:41,040 Speaker 2: the pressure forces the carbon atoms close together, and then 44 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:43,799 Speaker 2: the little electrons in the atoms go, oh dear, we're 45 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:45,600 Speaker 2: going to have to rearrange and we need to make 46 00:02:45,639 --> 00:02:49,519 Speaker 2: different friends. So they form different bonds, and they form 47 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:50,959 Speaker 2: what's called a convalent bond. 48 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:52,440 Speaker 1: So it's just carbon. 49 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:55,960 Speaker 2: Yes, yes, it's one of the beauties of diamond making. 50 00:02:56,240 --> 00:03:00,400 Speaker 2: There's like carbon everywhere. I think some scientists famously a 51 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:03,440 Speaker 2: diamond out of peanut butter once just to prove that 52 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:04,080 Speaker 2: you could do it. 53 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:07,200 Speaker 1: How do you make a diamond out of peanut butter? 54 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:09,440 Speaker 2: So they just got a bit of peanut butter and 55 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:13,320 Speaker 2: squeeze the life out of it. Basically it released a 56 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:15,639 Speaker 2: lot of other things like hydrogen and things. I think 57 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:18,680 Speaker 2: it actually broke the system that they were using, but 58 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:21,360 Speaker 2: they did make like tiny little diamonds, which is a 59 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:22,440 Speaker 2: really cute experiment. 60 00:03:22,639 --> 00:03:27,239 Speaker 1: Oh wow, was it the chunky or the smooth kine 61 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:28,280 Speaker 1: or the shiny. 62 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:28,680 Speaker 3: Code I don't know. 63 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:34,360 Speaker 1: Yeah, So you can make diamonds out of anything with carbon, 64 00:03:34,639 --> 00:03:38,200 Speaker 1: even peanut butter, which means you can make diamonds in 65 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:42,080 Speaker 1: a jiff, get it like peanut butter brand No, actually, 66 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:46,360 Speaker 1: naturally occurring diamonds take a long time. But here's the 67 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:50,520 Speaker 1: next interesting thing I learned about diamonds. Scientists don't really 68 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:54,960 Speaker 1: know how long it takes to make them. 69 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:57,800 Speaker 2: So we famously know that diamonds are formed deep into 70 00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:00,680 Speaker 2: the earth in a kind of a GOLDI lie for 71 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:01,800 Speaker 2: diamond formation. 72 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:03,360 Speaker 3: It also takes. 73 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:06,360 Speaker 2: Potentially billions of years for this process to happen. 74 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:07,880 Speaker 1: Why does it take a long time? 75 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:11,560 Speaker 2: Well, that's actually interesting. We don't really know how long 76 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 2: diamonds take to form deep in the earth. We don't 77 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:17,400 Speaker 2: know exactly how the process works. It's one of those 78 00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:20,279 Speaker 2: things you do if you read the textbook, it says, yes, 79 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:22,679 Speaker 2: you need this temperature and this pressure, but we can't 80 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:25,440 Speaker 2: actually explain the science so that we can't look down 81 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:27,760 Speaker 2: that deep in the earth and watch what's happening. 82 00:04:29,839 --> 00:04:33,560 Speaker 1: That's right. The actual way in which diamonds form is 83 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:36,960 Speaker 1: still a mystery. The only reason we think it takes 84 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:39,520 Speaker 1: a long time is that when we take carbon in 85 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:42,680 Speaker 1: a lab and squeeze it super hard and make it 86 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:47,920 Speaker 1: super duper hard, nothing happens. So we assume that it 87 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:52,320 Speaker 1: must take a long time, maybe billions of years, but 88 00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:55,680 Speaker 1: we're not really sure. Now you might be thinking, wait 89 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:58,039 Speaker 1: a minute, a joorhe I thought we could make diamonds 90 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:02,359 Speaker 1: in the lab and in factories, we can make artificial diamonds. 91 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:05,640 Speaker 1: How do we make those? Well, it turns out that 92 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:09,920 Speaker 1: to make a diamond in a lab you have to sheath. 93 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:14,120 Speaker 2: We can play tricks up on the surface of the 94 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:17,200 Speaker 2: earth where we add metallic catalysts, and that can just 95 00:05:17,279 --> 00:05:20,800 Speaker 2: help the process go a lot faster, and therefore we 96 00:05:20,839 --> 00:05:23,320 Speaker 2: can make it on a time period that you know, 97 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:25,240 Speaker 2: we don't have to wait around billions of years to 98 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:28,280 Speaker 2: get your engagement ring. That's where you could create like 99 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:32,080 Speaker 2: a coke cans worth of diamonds in about an hour. 100 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:37,520 Speaker 2: And these massive presses and really high temperatures, huge industrial 101 00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:40,760 Speaker 2: process and the diamonds you're talking about here are generally 102 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:43,160 Speaker 2: in diamonds that you might put them on the top 103 00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:45,520 Speaker 2: of a drill bit, and it did cost about the 104 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:46,480 Speaker 2: same as a sandwich. 105 00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:52,000 Speaker 1: So we can make diamonds artificially in a lab or 106 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:55,839 Speaker 1: in a factory, but to get the really natural, pure ones, 107 00:05:56,200 --> 00:05:58,800 Speaker 1: like the ones made inside the earth, you have to 108 00:05:58,839 --> 00:06:03,200 Speaker 1: wait potentially billions of years. And by the way, if 109 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:06,159 Speaker 1: you're waiting billions of years for an engagement ring, you 110 00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:09,880 Speaker 1: might want to consider either an artificial diamond or a 111 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:13,280 Speaker 1: new girlfriend or boyfriend. Okay, the next question I had 112 00:06:13,279 --> 00:06:18,040 Speaker 1: for doctor Bradby was what makes diamonds so hard? If 113 00:06:18,080 --> 00:06:21,680 Speaker 1: they're just carbon atoms, what makes them different than a 114 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:25,240 Speaker 1: lump of coal or graphite, which is what your pencil 115 00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:28,360 Speaker 1: lead is made out of. Both of those things are 116 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:32,320 Speaker 1: also made of pure carbon, And the answer is that 117 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:39,520 Speaker 1: it's all about how those carbon atoms are arranged. So 118 00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:43,560 Speaker 1: coal is just carbon. What's the difference between that and diamonds? 119 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:47,279 Speaker 2: Yeah, excellent question. So that is how we arrange those 120 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:51,719 Speaker 2: atoms within the structure. So diamond has what we call 121 00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:55,640 Speaker 2: a tetrahedral lattice. That means each carbon atom is attached 122 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:58,880 Speaker 2: to four of its bodies in a particular structure. It's 123 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:02,760 Speaker 2: really really and it goes on forever. In this three 124 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:07,960 Speaker 2: dimensional structure. Coal is basically made of black carbon graphite, 125 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:11,800 Speaker 2: which is layers of carbon. Now those layers are attached 126 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:16,000 Speaker 2: to their bodies in three bonds in one sort of plane. 127 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:19,920 Speaker 2: They're really really strong, but they can move over each 128 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:21,680 Speaker 2: other really really easily. 129 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:23,000 Speaker 3: They're quite slippery. 130 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 1: The sheets of graphites are slippery, that's right. 131 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:27,240 Speaker 3: They slip over each other. 132 00:07:27,240 --> 00:07:29,240 Speaker 2: That's why when you touch coal, it comes off on 133 00:07:29,280 --> 00:07:31,920 Speaker 2: your hand, but if you touch diamond it does not. 134 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:38,080 Speaker 1: So the secret beween diamond's heartners is a lucky combination 135 00:07:38,440 --> 00:07:42,080 Speaker 1: of two things. The first is that the carbon atoms 136 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:45,760 Speaker 1: form really strong bonds with each other. If you remember 137 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:49,440 Speaker 1: from high school chemistry, carbon has four electrons in its 138 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:53,640 Speaker 1: outer shell, so it forms perfect covalent bonds with itself, 139 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:56,560 Speaker 1: and these are the strongest types of bonds there are, 140 00:07:57,080 --> 00:08:00,560 Speaker 1: as opposed to ionic bonds, which is what all table 141 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:04,200 Speaker 1: salt together, for example, or hydrogen bonds, which is what 142 00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:08,560 Speaker 1: holds water molecules to each other. But here's the kicker, though, 143 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:12,360 Speaker 1: The bonds that carbon forms in diamonds are not the 144 00:08:12,440 --> 00:08:16,560 Speaker 1: strongest kinds of covalent bonds that carbon can make. The 145 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:20,960 Speaker 1: carbon in graphite actually form stronger bonds what are called 146 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:24,880 Speaker 1: SP two bonds, which are stronger than SP three bonds, 147 00:08:25,040 --> 00:08:29,560 Speaker 1: which is what carbon uses in diamonds. So technically graphite, 148 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:32,080 Speaker 1: which is what you use in your pencil to write 149 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:35,559 Speaker 1: that smears when you rub it against paper, is stronger 150 00:08:35,800 --> 00:08:40,320 Speaker 1: than diamonds. But how is that possible? Well, as doctor 151 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:44,760 Speaker 1: Bradby said, the carbon in diamonds forms a three D structure. 152 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:47,920 Speaker 1: Think of it like the scaffolding and a building before 153 00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:50,559 Speaker 1: you put on the walls and floors in it, whereas 154 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:55,040 Speaker 1: the carbon in graphite forms two D grids or sheets 155 00:08:55,280 --> 00:08:58,760 Speaker 1: which slip past each other and make the graphite crumply. 156 00:09:01,240 --> 00:09:04,240 Speaker 2: So you might have heard of carbon nanotubes. They were 157 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:08,320 Speaker 2: these sort of wrap around tubes of graphite essentially, and 158 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:10,280 Speaker 2: they joined up in a big tube and they were 159 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:12,800 Speaker 2: very very strong, and there were people saying that they 160 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:15,400 Speaker 2: were going to build elevators to the moon with these 161 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:20,080 Speaker 2: carbon nano structures because they were so very very strong. 162 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:22,800 Speaker 2: So that is a very strong bond, but it's only 163 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:25,160 Speaker 2: one layer, so you can play tricks to try to 164 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:27,960 Speaker 2: make it kind of three dimensionally strong. But you don't 165 00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:30,560 Speaker 2: need to do that with diamond because its crystal structure 166 00:09:30,679 --> 00:09:33,760 Speaker 2: is already three dimensional strong in all the directions, and 167 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:38,520 Speaker 2: that's why it's super hard. So nearly all materials that 168 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:43,319 Speaker 2: are relatively hard have the same properties, have that same 169 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:49,240 Speaker 2: two things, a really strong bond and a essentially isotropic 170 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:52,160 Speaker 2: or the same in every direction bonding network. 171 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:57,719 Speaker 1: It's just that magic combination and only carbon will do that. No, 172 00:09:57,760 --> 00:10:02,560 Speaker 1: there's other materials as well, all right, and that brings 173 00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:06,080 Speaker 1: us to the big question of the episode, which is 174 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:09,920 Speaker 1: is there anything harder than diamonds? We're going to find 175 00:10:09,920 --> 00:10:14,679 Speaker 1: out and I think the answer will surprise you. Stay 176 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:25,199 Speaker 1: with us, We'll be right back. Welcome back. All right. 177 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:28,040 Speaker 1: We talked about how you can make diamonds out of 178 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:31,920 Speaker 1: peanut butter, how we're not quite sure how diamonds are 179 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:35,320 Speaker 1: made under the ground, and about the magic sauce that 180 00:10:35,400 --> 00:10:39,679 Speaker 1: makes diamonds so hard. Now the question is how hard 181 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:43,640 Speaker 1: are they? Are there other materials that are harder? I 182 00:10:43,679 --> 00:10:48,480 Speaker 1: asked our expert, doctor Bradby this question. Okay, so then 183 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:52,640 Speaker 1: now the question is harder materials that are harder than diamond? 184 00:10:52,840 --> 00:10:55,600 Speaker 1: Or could there be materials harder than diamond? Yes? 185 00:10:55,880 --> 00:10:59,720 Speaker 2: Yes, So this is one of those intriguing scientific questions 186 00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:02,560 Speaker 2: because because when you get out into the literature, there's 187 00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:06,320 Speaker 2: always a little bit of ajibaji discussion around this. So 188 00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:09,800 Speaker 2: you have some groups claiming that they've created this material 189 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:13,520 Speaker 2: that is theory should be harder than diamond. And this 190 00:11:13,679 --> 00:11:16,040 Speaker 2: is the crux of the things. There's a lot of 191 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:20,080 Speaker 2: theoretical calculations that might predict a material to be harder 192 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:20,679 Speaker 2: than diamond. 193 00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:25,559 Speaker 1: Whoa, whoa, whoa, Wait a minute. We can create materials 194 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:28,640 Speaker 1: or invent materials that don't exist. 195 00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:31,360 Speaker 3: Oh, we do that all the time. 196 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:35,680 Speaker 2: We can use machine learning techniques and we do these 197 00:11:35,720 --> 00:11:39,360 Speaker 2: things what's called a random property search. So essentially, what 198 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:42,640 Speaker 2: the modeling people do is they get a whole lot 199 00:11:42,640 --> 00:11:44,760 Speaker 2: of atoms and they put them in a can. Now 200 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:47,360 Speaker 2: the cans in their computer, but they still call it 201 00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:51,920 Speaker 2: a sample, and they apply various conditions to that sample. 202 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:56,400 Speaker 2: They might provide a pressure at temperature, they might suddenly 203 00:11:56,480 --> 00:11:59,760 Speaker 2: unload it quickly. They do something to that, and they 204 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:03,360 Speaker 2: look at what the energy of that system is. And 205 00:12:03,440 --> 00:12:05,480 Speaker 2: if there is a little dip, that means like the 206 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:08,079 Speaker 2: atoms might be stuck down there. They're all in that 207 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:12,400 Speaker 2: little configuration. That could indicate that that is a stable structure. 208 00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:14,959 Speaker 2: So then they go, oh, what happened there? And then 209 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:18,560 Speaker 2: they pull those atoms out at that particular point and 210 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:21,319 Speaker 2: they look at the structure and they go, oh, this 211 00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:22,280 Speaker 2: is a good structure. 212 00:12:22,520 --> 00:12:23,000 Speaker 1: Uh huh. 213 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:25,960 Speaker 2: Maybe this is going to be really important in terms 214 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:29,679 Speaker 2: of a super conducting magnet or it might be really 215 00:12:29,679 --> 00:12:30,760 Speaker 2: really hard. 216 00:12:32,160 --> 00:12:35,800 Speaker 1: Well, this is pretty cool. Scientists can now basically simulate 217 00:12:35,920 --> 00:12:39,560 Speaker 1: nature and basically roll the dice and see if they 218 00:12:39,600 --> 00:12:43,080 Speaker 1: can get atoms to form new kinds of materials that 219 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:47,080 Speaker 1: maybe we've never seen before. I always thought in movies 220 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:51,440 Speaker 1: when they mention the fictional material like vibrinium or adamantium 221 00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:54,000 Speaker 1: in the Marvel movies, that it was all made up. 222 00:12:54,640 --> 00:12:57,559 Speaker 1: But there really could be materials out there that can 223 00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:01,400 Speaker 1: do things we can't even imagine right now. Of course, 224 00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:05,040 Speaker 1: though this is all in the computer. The real question is. 225 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:10,520 Speaker 2: Can we physically create that material, And sometimes the answer 226 00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:14,040 Speaker 2: is no, or can we physically create enough of it 227 00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:17,360 Speaker 2: that we can measure it to actually confirm that it's 228 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:21,880 Speaker 2: harder than diamond. It's possible, we can never get there physically, 229 00:13:22,080 --> 00:13:25,320 Speaker 2: Like it's just impossible in the terms of pressure, temperature, 230 00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:27,520 Speaker 2: thermodynamics to get to that structure. 231 00:13:27,640 --> 00:13:30,800 Speaker 1: It's impossible to get atoms to make that structure, even 232 00:13:30,840 --> 00:13:34,600 Speaker 1: though it's technically possible. Getting there is a whole different 233 00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:36,040 Speaker 1: thing possible. Yeah. 234 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:40,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, So there's many, many of these structures proposed. I 235 00:13:40,679 --> 00:13:45,480 Speaker 2: think carbon's got ten or twenty, maybe hundreds of structures 236 00:13:45,600 --> 00:13:48,040 Speaker 2: of carbon that have been proposed to exist. 237 00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:48,760 Speaker 1: Uh huh. 238 00:13:48,800 --> 00:13:51,800 Speaker 2: And this is carbon that's bonded in the same way 239 00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:56,440 Speaker 2: the covalent bond. And we've really only found two that 240 00:13:56,480 --> 00:13:57,920 Speaker 2: we can confirm. 241 00:13:58,640 --> 00:14:02,960 Speaker 1: Okay, there are two materials that scientists think should be 242 00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:06,680 Speaker 1: harder than diamonds. The first one is a material that's 243 00:14:06,679 --> 00:14:11,760 Speaker 1: found in meteorites. Okay, so what are these two materials? 244 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:12,120 Speaker 3: Okay? 245 00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:15,560 Speaker 2: Some one is a different arrangement which is called Lonsterlight. 246 00:14:15,960 --> 00:14:19,120 Speaker 1: What's it called again, Lonsterlight lines Delight Okay. 247 00:14:19,320 --> 00:14:23,160 Speaker 2: So it's named after Kathleen Lonsdale, who is a carbon 248 00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:27,680 Speaker 2: scientist in the UK. Amazing person, really worth going down 249 00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:31,560 Speaker 2: a rabbit hole with her, and in honor of the 250 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:34,760 Speaker 2: work that she did in carbon, the lons Light structure 251 00:14:34,840 --> 00:14:35,640 Speaker 2: was named after her. 252 00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:38,080 Speaker 1: So it's also made out of carbon. 253 00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:40,880 Speaker 2: It's made out of carbon. It's also made out of 254 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:45,880 Speaker 2: convalently bonded carbon. It's also in a continuous three dimension network, 255 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:48,960 Speaker 2: so it ticks the boxes that we've been talking about. 256 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:49,480 Speaker 1: Huh. 257 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:51,880 Speaker 2: But it's got a different structure. 258 00:14:52,040 --> 00:14:53,280 Speaker 3: So the way the. 259 00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:58,080 Speaker 2: Atoms are physically arranged is slightly different. So instead of 260 00:14:58,160 --> 00:15:03,160 Speaker 2: having a repeating box that is a ubique structure. It's 261 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:05,600 Speaker 2: got a slightly different structure to that, and we call 262 00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:08,720 Speaker 2: it a hexagonal structure. Now that doesn't mean that it's 263 00:15:08,720 --> 00:15:11,640 Speaker 2: sort of arranged in a hexagonal latters. What it means 264 00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:16,320 Speaker 2: is you can create a hexagonal repeating cell within the 265 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:21,800 Speaker 2: framework of the crystom. It is predicted to be harder 266 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:22,440 Speaker 2: than diamond. 267 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:27,480 Speaker 1: Okay, So the first material scientists think could be harder 268 00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:32,200 Speaker 1: than diamonds is called lonstelate, and it's basically a diamond, 269 00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:36,720 Speaker 1: but with its structure tweaked so that overall its grid 270 00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:41,320 Speaker 1: repeats itself in a hexagonal pattern. It actually has been 271 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:44,920 Speaker 1: found in nature in meteorites that have crashed on Earth. 272 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:49,400 Speaker 1: Notably who's found in fragments of the Canyon Diablo meteorite, 273 00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:52,440 Speaker 1: which is what made the huge crater at meteor Crater 274 00:15:52,640 --> 00:15:56,440 Speaker 1: landmark in Arizona. It's also been reportedly found in a 275 00:15:56,560 --> 00:16:01,080 Speaker 1: diamond deposit in Kazakhstan. Now, in theory, according to the 276 00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:05,520 Speaker 1: computer simulations, this lancelide should be harder than diamonds. 277 00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:11,960 Speaker 2: But but there's a butt, And usually with all this 278 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:14,880 Speaker 2: harder than diamond work, there is a butt. And the 279 00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:19,280 Speaker 2: butt is that it is only on one particular poking direction. 280 00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:21,680 Speaker 1: Okay, it's only strong in one direction. 281 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:25,880 Speaker 2: Yeap, only in one direction, and that is because of 282 00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:29,720 Speaker 2: the way that breaking of bonds, that movement of things, 283 00:16:30,320 --> 00:16:31,479 Speaker 2: how that works. 284 00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:36,120 Speaker 1: What doctor Bradby is saying is that some materials are 285 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:40,360 Speaker 1: harder or softer depending on which direction you try to 286 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:42,760 Speaker 1: squeeze them. Sort of like if you had a box 287 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:44,840 Speaker 1: in front of you and you try to squeeze it 288 00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:47,960 Speaker 1: from top to bottom or from the sides, it might 289 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:50,440 Speaker 1: feel hard in all of those directions, but if you 290 00:16:50,480 --> 00:16:53,760 Speaker 1: squeeze it at the corners, it might collapse more easily. 291 00:16:54,120 --> 00:16:57,720 Speaker 1: The same thing happens in crystal materials, and in lancelide, 292 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:02,160 Speaker 1: one of those directions is predicted to be harder than diamonds. 293 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:05,560 Speaker 1: The reason for that is a little technical, but basically, 294 00:17:05,720 --> 00:17:08,480 Speaker 1: when you press down on a material and it yields 295 00:17:08,560 --> 00:17:11,960 Speaker 1: or it gives, the atoms tend to rearrange themselves a 296 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:15,080 Speaker 1: little bit. And in lons oflide, because of its tweak 297 00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:19,760 Speaker 1: diamond structure, the crystal has to rearrange itself twice, which 298 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:23,360 Speaker 1: is what makes it a harder material. Okay, you might 299 00:17:23,359 --> 00:17:26,000 Speaker 1: have noticed that we keep saying loss of lighte might 300 00:17:26,080 --> 00:17:29,919 Speaker 1: be harder than diamonds. You're probably thinking, if we found 301 00:17:29,960 --> 00:17:32,560 Speaker 1: lons of light in meteorites here on Earth, why can't 302 00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:35,640 Speaker 1: we just test it, you know, smash it against diamonds 303 00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:38,439 Speaker 1: and see which one survives. But the problem is that 304 00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:41,800 Speaker 1: lonz of lte has only been found as tiny, little 305 00:17:41,840 --> 00:17:45,159 Speaker 1: microscopic crystals that are too small to put in a 306 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:48,680 Speaker 1: machine to test, and also no one's quite been able 307 00:17:48,720 --> 00:17:50,240 Speaker 1: to make it in the lab. 308 00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:54,840 Speaker 2: There is definitely a crystal structure called lonster light that 309 00:17:54,960 --> 00:17:58,920 Speaker 2: is definitely different to the cubic structure. But whether the 310 00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:03,440 Speaker 2: diamond can form enough of this material to be perfect 311 00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:07,200 Speaker 2: and be in a bulk like structure, we have never 312 00:18:07,240 --> 00:18:08,760 Speaker 2: been able to successfully make that. 313 00:18:08,840 --> 00:18:09,000 Speaker 1: Yet. 314 00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:12,960 Speaker 2: We've made tiny amounts of the lunsterlite. You could imagine 315 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:17,200 Speaker 2: a little one centimeter rock of this stuff, but each 316 00:18:17,359 --> 00:18:22,399 Speaker 2: individual crystal is still really small, like it's not a 317 00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:25,720 Speaker 2: perfect single crystal. It would be lovely if we could 318 00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:28,359 Speaker 2: make a perfect single crystal of this material that was 319 00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:30,840 Speaker 2: about a centimeter, because then we could put it in 320 00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:33,560 Speaker 2: all our machines, we could look at it from every 321 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:36,919 Speaker 2: direction and we could confirm that is, yes, this is 322 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:42,040 Speaker 2: exactly that structure. And more importantly, we could actually measure 323 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:44,920 Speaker 2: and see if it was indeed harder than diamond. 324 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:48,159 Speaker 1: I see, but we can't because the sample that you 325 00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:50,200 Speaker 1: have created is really small. 326 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:52,679 Speaker 2: And of course then we get to the thorny question 327 00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:56,080 Speaker 2: of what do you poke it with? Because at the 328 00:18:56,119 --> 00:18:59,280 Speaker 2: moment all our pokey tools are made of diamond. 329 00:18:59,359 --> 00:19:02,440 Speaker 3: Of course, So this is a. 330 00:19:02,359 --> 00:19:05,520 Speaker 2: Problem I pose to every first year class that I think, 331 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:08,840 Speaker 2: I am trying to measure something harder than diamond, but 332 00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:10,880 Speaker 2: the only thing I have to measure with is diamond. 333 00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:13,000 Speaker 3: If you want to come and talk. 334 00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:15,679 Speaker 2: To me about the solution to this, please how work. 335 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:16,120 Speaker 3: In my lab? 336 00:19:18,119 --> 00:19:20,400 Speaker 1: All right, when we come back, we're going to learn 337 00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:24,119 Speaker 1: about another material scientist think might be harder than diamonds. 338 00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:26,679 Speaker 1: And then we're going to talk about two things that 339 00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:31,439 Speaker 1: are definitely harder than diamonds. Don't go anywhere. You're listening 340 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:47,159 Speaker 1: to sign stuff, Welcome back. So then this long slight 341 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:49,399 Speaker 1: would be stronger, but only in certain directions. In the 342 00:19:49,440 --> 00:19:51,639 Speaker 1: other directions, it wouldn't be stronger than diamond. 343 00:19:51,840 --> 00:19:52,520 Speaker 3: Correct, Ye? 344 00:19:53,240 --> 00:19:55,080 Speaker 1: Now, is that the only one that we know about 345 00:19:55,080 --> 00:19:56,040 Speaker 1: that might be harder? 346 00:19:56,359 --> 00:19:59,879 Speaker 2: No, there's another few. So there is more on nitri 347 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:02,639 Speaker 2: that you can get a cubic structure of that or 348 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:03,840 Speaker 2: hexagonal structure. 349 00:20:04,119 --> 00:20:08,000 Speaker 1: Okay, so that one's not just pure carbon atoms. It's different. 350 00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:11,639 Speaker 2: No, it's got nitrogen in it as well, so it's hydrogen, helium, 351 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:16,000 Speaker 2: lithium boron. So we're still talking about a low atomic number. 352 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:17,200 Speaker 3: And this does. 353 00:20:17,040 --> 00:20:19,960 Speaker 2: Seem to be the case that all the harder elements 354 00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:22,119 Speaker 2: are low atomic numbers. They're high up there on the 355 00:20:22,119 --> 00:20:22,960 Speaker 2: periodic table. 356 00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:27,800 Speaker 1: You might not remember this from high school chemistry. I 357 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:31,920 Speaker 1: certainly didn't, but atoms high on the periodic table are 358 00:20:32,119 --> 00:20:36,840 Speaker 1: smaller and lighter, and it means that electrons are closer 359 00:20:36,960 --> 00:20:40,399 Speaker 1: to their nuclei, which means the bonds they form with 360 00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:45,440 Speaker 1: other atoms are shorter, which makes them stronger. It's also 361 00:20:45,520 --> 00:20:49,159 Speaker 1: no coincidence that boron and nitrogen, the main components of 362 00:20:49,440 --> 00:20:52,119 Speaker 1: or nitrite, are just to the rate and just to 363 00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:56,080 Speaker 1: the left of carbon in the periodic table, so they're 364 00:20:56,240 --> 00:20:59,960 Speaker 1: kind of the closest you can get to a carbon bond. 365 00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:04,119 Speaker 1: But now the question is is this boron nitride harder 366 00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:05,360 Speaker 1: than diamonds? 367 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:11,240 Speaker 2: That's also predicted to be a super hard material, perhaps 368 00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:14,440 Speaker 2: harder than diamond, but it's not really, I'm not convinced. 369 00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:15,080 Speaker 3: Put it that way. 370 00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:17,480 Speaker 1: Okay, So why are you not convinced? 371 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:23,040 Speaker 2: Because I am an experimental scientist and one of the 372 00:21:23,080 --> 00:21:25,920 Speaker 2: sayings in my lab is nice story, Now show. 373 00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:30,560 Speaker 1: Me the data. So there's no data for this material 374 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:34,320 Speaker 1: not convincing no meaning like people have made it, but 375 00:21:34,359 --> 00:21:36,280 Speaker 1: they haven't tested it. What does it mean? 376 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:40,439 Speaker 2: Yes, well, if you test it using a diamond and 377 00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:44,320 Speaker 2: you poke it, if you're approaching the hardness of the 378 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:47,600 Speaker 2: diamond and you push them together, you can imagine that 379 00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:50,040 Speaker 2: there's going to be some sort of giving in the 380 00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:51,680 Speaker 2: tip in the diamond. 381 00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:52,520 Speaker 3: As well as the sample. 382 00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:56,840 Speaker 2: And currently that's not accounted for in many of the measurements. 383 00:21:57,040 --> 00:21:59,159 Speaker 1: But the diamond makes a whole a divid in the 384 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:00,800 Speaker 1: boron like yeah. 385 00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:02,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean the diamond can make a divot in 386 00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:05,639 Speaker 2: other diamond. But that doesn't mean that diamond is harder 387 00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:06,880 Speaker 2: than the tip diamond. 388 00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:11,720 Speaker 1: H What is it? Because if it is harder that 389 00:22:11,800 --> 00:22:12,639 Speaker 1: it's hard to tell. 390 00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:17,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, I would say the evidence that it's harder has 391 00:22:17,240 --> 00:22:18,919 Speaker 2: not been compelling. 392 00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:21,439 Speaker 1: So what would it take to convince you if we 393 00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:22,040 Speaker 1: switched it? 394 00:22:22,359 --> 00:22:26,439 Speaker 2: If somebody made an indented tip from oron nitride and 395 00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:30,879 Speaker 2: use that to indented diamonds surface. And there was just 396 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:33,560 Speaker 2: an indent in the diamond surface. And we looked at 397 00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:36,679 Speaker 2: the tip before and after, and we analyzed it, and 398 00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:39,200 Speaker 2: we looked down with an electron microscope, and we saw 399 00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:42,000 Speaker 2: that there was no defects in that tip. 400 00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:43,240 Speaker 3: That might be a. 401 00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:45,680 Speaker 1: Pretty good proof, meaning the tip didn't crack when it 402 00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:48,040 Speaker 1: hit the diamond. Where hasn't anyone done that? 403 00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:49,399 Speaker 3: That's a good question. I don't know. 404 00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:56,360 Speaker 2: I strongly suspect that it wouldn't actually turn out that way. 405 00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:03,320 Speaker 1: So we come once again to the edge of scientific knowledge. 406 00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:07,439 Speaker 1: This is the hard line literally between what we know 407 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:11,120 Speaker 1: and what we don't know. We have two pretty good 408 00:23:11,119 --> 00:23:14,960 Speaker 1: contenders for materials that could be harder than diamonds, but 409 00:23:15,240 --> 00:23:19,119 Speaker 1: we're not sure, either because they're hard to make or 410 00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:22,800 Speaker 1: because it's hard to test hardness. I mean, if someone 411 00:23:22,840 --> 00:23:25,679 Speaker 1: gave you a block of something and told you it 412 00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:28,560 Speaker 1: was the hardest thing in the universe, how would you 413 00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:32,800 Speaker 1: check it? Could you tell exactly how hard it was? 414 00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:37,400 Speaker 1: What will you use to check it? So, whether lanzolite 415 00:23:37,680 --> 00:23:41,840 Speaker 1: and boron nitrite are harder than diamonds, the answer is 416 00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:47,159 Speaker 1: stay tuned. The crown for hardest material on Earth still 417 00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:51,399 Speaker 1: belongs to diamonds, or does it. I told you I 418 00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:54,760 Speaker 1: learned a lot of interesting things about diamonds from director Bradby, 419 00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:57,720 Speaker 1: and one of the things I learned was how fragile 420 00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:01,760 Speaker 1: that crown is. There are several things that can knock 421 00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:04,560 Speaker 1: that grown off if you just put a little effort 422 00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:07,040 Speaker 1: into it. The first is that it turns out that 423 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:12,560 Speaker 1: diamonds have a soft spot, or at least a soft direction. 424 00:24:16,280 --> 00:24:19,199 Speaker 2: And I sort of said a little bit that the 425 00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:22,679 Speaker 2: diamond is isotropic, the same in all directions, but not 426 00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:26,960 Speaker 2: quite isotropic. In some directions. It's slightly stronger than others, 427 00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:29,679 Speaker 2: not much, but we can definitely see that. 428 00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:32,720 Speaker 1: So if it has weaker directions, does that mean you 429 00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:33,600 Speaker 1: can break it? 430 00:24:34,119 --> 00:24:35,400 Speaker 3: Diamonds very easy to break. 431 00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:38,320 Speaker 2: Actually, if you get a diamond and you tap it 432 00:24:38,359 --> 00:24:41,040 Speaker 2: on a particular axis, uh huh, then you can get 433 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:42,920 Speaker 2: it to fracture. Uh. 434 00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:44,600 Speaker 1: Well, that's how the sheep diamonds. 435 00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:45,240 Speaker 3: That's right. 436 00:24:45,320 --> 00:24:48,080 Speaker 2: When you start off you we'd probably fracture them and 437 00:24:48,119 --> 00:24:52,040 Speaker 2: then you would polish them with diamond paste. 438 00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:55,040 Speaker 1: So diamond is not strong in all directions. 439 00:24:55,600 --> 00:24:58,440 Speaker 2: Uh yeah, Well, if you push it measuring the hardness. 440 00:24:58,480 --> 00:25:01,879 Speaker 2: It's strong, but if you you give it a sharp tap, 441 00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:04,920 Speaker 2: then you could get like a stress wave that would 442 00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:08,240 Speaker 2: go through and fracture it. So it's actually it's not 443 00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:11,840 Speaker 2: really brittle obviously, But if you hit diamond with a hammer, yeah, 444 00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:12,679 Speaker 2: you're going to break it. 445 00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:15,560 Speaker 1: Oh really, But I've seen YouTube videos where people try 446 00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:17,680 Speaker 1: to hit diamonds with a hammer and it doesn't crack. 447 00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:22,240 Speaker 2: Well, maybe they have to hit it along a particular axis. 448 00:25:23,359 --> 00:25:27,639 Speaker 1: See once again, you can't believe everything you see on YouTube. Okay, 449 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:30,560 Speaker 1: the second thing I learned about diamonds that make them 450 00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:33,840 Speaker 1: less impressive is that on the surface of planet Earth, 451 00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:39,119 Speaker 1: diamonds are only meta stable, which means the shiny crystal 452 00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:43,760 Speaker 1: structure that makes diamonds so pretty it's not absolutely hop 453 00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:47,840 Speaker 1: Carbon atoms want to be arranged. Graphite is. 454 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:53,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, so we have this concept of what is the 455 00:25:53,359 --> 00:25:59,320 Speaker 2: most stable structure at particular points in a pressure temperature region, 456 00:26:00,200 --> 00:26:04,400 Speaker 2: and where we are here on Earth, the lowest energy 457 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:06,960 Speaker 2: material for carbon. 458 00:26:07,160 --> 00:26:08,480 Speaker 3: Is this graphitic structure. 459 00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:09,800 Speaker 1: Okay, so if. 460 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:12,560 Speaker 2: We had a bunch of diamond in our can and 461 00:26:12,600 --> 00:26:14,840 Speaker 2: we heated it, it would. 462 00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:17,760 Speaker 3: Transform to graphite. Because it's like, if. 463 00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:19,399 Speaker 2: You give me a chance I'm going to lower my 464 00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:22,680 Speaker 2: free energy and form down into this really comfy where 465 00:26:22,680 --> 00:26:25,280 Speaker 2: I want to be phase. So this is the concept 466 00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:29,159 Speaker 2: of meta stability. 467 00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:32,520 Speaker 1: Yeah. So basically, if you stick a diamond in the oven, 468 00:26:33,080 --> 00:26:37,960 Speaker 1: eventually it'll turn to graphite. And again, graphite is what's 469 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:42,400 Speaker 1: in every pencil on planet Earth. And if there's oxygen 470 00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:45,560 Speaker 1: in the air at around eight hundred and fifty degrees 471 00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:50,520 Speaker 1: celsius or about fifteen hundred degrees fahrenheit, diamond will actually 472 00:26:50,960 --> 00:26:56,240 Speaker 1: spontaneously combust or burn. They'll turn to CO two and 473 00:26:56,640 --> 00:27:00,920 Speaker 1: graphite ashes. So diamonds are only the as materials we 474 00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:05,119 Speaker 1: currently know about in a very limited situation, which is 475 00:27:05,400 --> 00:27:08,560 Speaker 1: on the surface of planet Earth. If you go somewhere 476 00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:15,480 Speaker 1: else it could be a different story. Ah. So like 477 00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:19,480 Speaker 1: if we lived then Venus, where it's nine hundred degrees fahrenheit, 478 00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:21,560 Speaker 1: a diamond armor would not help me. 479 00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:25,520 Speaker 3: It would not help you. Do not get the diamond arbor. 480 00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:29,919 Speaker 1: You'd be better off with a steel armer. 481 00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:34,800 Speaker 2: A nine hundred degrees steel is probably having problems as well, 482 00:27:35,240 --> 00:27:37,480 Speaker 2: getting a bit soft. At that point, what would I 483 00:27:37,520 --> 00:27:41,160 Speaker 2: get Maybe a ceramic Yeah, you know, you could still 484 00:27:41,240 --> 00:27:43,760 Speaker 2: use carbon, but you could change the way the atoms 485 00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:48,240 Speaker 2: are bonded. Maybe you'd use something like a disordered black 486 00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:52,560 Speaker 2: carbon called glassy carbon that is stable up to about 487 00:27:52,600 --> 00:27:55,960 Speaker 2: three thousand degrees. See ah, and it would be light. 488 00:27:56,240 --> 00:27:57,880 Speaker 1: Okay, tell me about this material again. 489 00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:01,760 Speaker 2: So glassy carbon is the black form of carbon, so 490 00:28:01,840 --> 00:28:05,120 Speaker 2: growfitique like but instead of sheets, it's like we got 491 00:28:05,119 --> 00:28:07,000 Speaker 2: all the paper and we scrunched them into a big 492 00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:10,400 Speaker 2: ball and they're all into linked so they're really stuck. 493 00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:13,639 Speaker 2: We call it glassy because it's kind of disordered. 494 00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:14,480 Speaker 1: Uh huh. 495 00:28:14,480 --> 00:28:17,240 Speaker 2: But it's incredibly stable because it's all stuck like that. 496 00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:20,199 Speaker 2: We use them as crucible, so we put things in 497 00:28:20,240 --> 00:28:21,600 Speaker 2: them when we want to heat them up in a 498 00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:25,480 Speaker 2: furnace to say three thousand degrees, and it's super resilient 499 00:28:25,600 --> 00:28:28,439 Speaker 2: to deformation as well. Like I've shoved it in a 500 00:28:28,520 --> 00:28:31,680 Speaker 2: diamond anvil cell and squeezed it and it just stays 501 00:28:31,800 --> 00:28:34,399 Speaker 2: like that up into really really high pressures. It's a 502 00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:35,240 Speaker 2: crazy material. 503 00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:36,760 Speaker 3: It'd be a great. 504 00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:40,200 Speaker 1: Armor on venus because your diamond armor at that point, 505 00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:41,240 Speaker 1: but would evaporate. 506 00:28:41,360 --> 00:28:44,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, that would evaporate, but your glassy carbon would still 507 00:28:44,280 --> 00:28:46,400 Speaker 2: be there. It'd be nice and light because it's made 508 00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:50,520 Speaker 2: of carbon ha ha, Yeah, you'd be fine. 509 00:28:51,720 --> 00:28:54,959 Speaker 1: All right, Well we did it. We found something that 510 00:28:55,080 --> 00:29:00,520 Speaker 1: is definitely harder than diamonds on venus. If you're a 511 00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:04,920 Speaker 1: girl on Venus, you just find yourself a new best friend. 512 00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:07,320 Speaker 1: And hey, look we made it all the way to 513 00:29:07,360 --> 00:29:11,240 Speaker 1: the end without another dad pun proof. I have to 514 00:29:11,280 --> 00:29:16,600 Speaker 1: say it wasn't easy. In fact, was pretty hard. Thanks 515 00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:21,840 Speaker 1: for joining us. See you next time you've been listening 516 00:29:21,840 --> 00:29:25,920 Speaker 1: to Science Stuff. Production of iHeartRadio written and produced by 517 00:29:25,960 --> 00:29:30,160 Speaker 1: me or Hey Cham, edited by Rose Seguda, executive producer 518 00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:33,680 Speaker 1: Jerry Rowland, and audio engineer and mixer Kasey Pegram and 519 00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:35,920 Speaker 1: you can follow me on social media to search for 520 00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:39,200 Speaker 1: PhD comics and the name of your favorite platform. Be 521 00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:42,040 Speaker 1: sure to subscribe to Sign Stuff on the iHeartRadio app, 522 00:29:42,120 --> 00:29:45,320 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts, and please 523 00:29:45,520 --> 00:29:50,240 Speaker 1: tell your friends we'll be back next Wednesday with another episode.