It is a well-known fact that diamond is
the hardest material on the planet. However, diamond lost its status of the
hardest substance when scientists at the North Carolina State University
discovered a new, harder-than-diamond form of carbon.
The research team found a new phase of
carbon, called the Q-carbon.
The new phase of carbon is quite
different from graphite and diamond. Q-Carbon shows some unique and quite
unexpected properties like ferromagnetic nature. Another unusual feature of
this phase of carbon is that it begins to glow in the presence of energy. See
more images from various experiments below:
The research has been published in the
Journal of Applied Physics. The Q-phase of carbon was created by focusing a
laser beam on amorphous carbon for 200-nanoseconds. The temperature of the
amorphous carbon sample rose quickly and was cooled down by the process of
quenching to create Q-Carbon.
This recent discovery will be a massive
breakthrough in the domain of structures and materials. The new hardest
material on the planet might be used for the fabrication of prosthetic
structures, improvement of the equipment used for deep drilling, as well as
developing new, brighter screens for the smartphones and televisions.
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