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Nitrogen 'Diamond' Created
Sensible Clod writes "Researchers of the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry have synthesized a new form of nitrogen, with a stucture like that of diamond. This was accomplished by means of a crushing force (>110 GPa) at extremely high temperature (2000 K), of course. The result, according to PhysOrg, is a very hard crystal with a lot of energy stored in it, which leads to the possibility of using it as a non-polluting fuel or high-explosive."
Several Questions:
1. Translucent?
2. Melting point?
3. Stable at STP ?
4. Does It Burn if I touch a match to it? Explode?
5. Does it resemble N2, which is stable, or not?
6. What is the hardness level (Mohr's scale) ?
7. Will it degrade over time under exposure to water?
8. Is the method for creating it highly expensive or could this be scaled up?
9. If it is explosive, how do we store it safely?
10. What are the mechanical properties? If it's stable and otherwise useful, will it vibrate with a piezoelectric effect?
11. Is it a semiconductor, conductor, or insulator?
12. Does it lase (can we use it as a pump medium for a laser) ?
Unitarian Church: Freethinkers Congregate!
A fuel? How much less energy do you get out from it than was put into it? It seems like a very difficult way of wasting energy.
This seems somewhat like a what a polymerized azide ((N3)- ion)compound would be like, perhaps with many similar properties- I can see the uses as a high explosive, as sodium azide is generally the explosive in airbags- a couple grams of the salt is sufficient to generate over 50L of nitrogen gas quite rapidly. The rearrangement of this network solid into triple-bonded gas molecules should release an enormous amount of energy. I wonder if this is nearly as sensitive to shock as the azides are though.
"FDA staff reviewers expressed concern about the number of patients who were left out of the study because they died."