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Pencil 'Lead' Mightier than Diamonds?

Posted by timothy on from the rapidograph-triumphs dept.

GuardianBob420 writes "Space Daily is reporting that a team of researchers has used a combination of extreme pressure and irradiation to alter the molecular structure of graphite -- resulting in a previously unobserved super-hard form of the stuff. From the article: 'The graphite that resulted from our experiment was so hard that when we released the pressure we saw that it had actually cracked the diamond anvil.'"

2 of 95 comments (clear)

  1. Yet another substance... by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...that if they could mass-produce it could completely change our lives.

    I tell ya, there's a revolution in materials engineering happening. There are so many substances being discovered or created that have radical properties these days. Sooner or later one of them will be mass-produced cheaply and efficiently and we will have space elevators and super-powerful batteries and all kinds of other cool stuff.

    You know, it's a good thing Wile E. Coyote never got a hold of a diamond anvil.

    --
    You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
    1. Re:Yet another substance... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      You know, it's a good thing Wile E. Coyote never got a hold of a diamond anvil.

      The DeBeers cartel drove ACME out of the diamond market.