Scientists Discover Material Harder Than Diamond

Currently, diamond is regarded to be the hardest known material in the world. But by considering large compressive pressures under indenters, scientists have calculated that a material called wurtzite boron nitride (w-BN) has a greater indentation strength than diamond. The scientists also calculated that another material, lonsdaleite (also called hexagonal diamond, since it’s made of carbon and is similar to diamond), is even stronger than w-BN and 58 percent stronger than diamond, setting a new record.

Diamond is still the hardest naturally occurring substance.

A diamond ring. Scientists have calculated that wurtzite boron nitride and lonsdaleite (hexagonal diamond) both have greater indentation strengths than diamond. Source: English Wikipedia


http://www.physorg.com/news153658987.html

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“Why water boils at a 100°C and methane at -161°C; why blood is red and grass is green; why diamond is hard and wax is soft; why graphite writes on paper and silk is strong; why glaciers flow and iron gets hard when you hammer it; how muscles contract; how sunlight makes plants grow and how living organisms have been able to evolve into ever complex forms – the answers to all these problems have come from structural analysis” - Max Ferdinand Perutz