Converting graphite into diamond has been a long held dream of alchemists the world over. In the modern era, materials scientists have puzzled over this process because it’s hard to work out why the ...

The graphite found in your favorite pencil could have instead been the diamond your mother always wears. What made the difference? Researchers are finding out. How molten carbon crystallizes into ...

Since graphite—the dark material used in regular old pencils—and diamonds are both made from carbon, it’s technically feasible to turn the former into the latter. You just need to apply a little ...

It is hard to imagine that graphite, the soft "lead" of pencils, can be transformed into a form that competes in strength with its molecular cousin diamond. It is hard to imagine that graphite, the ...

Graphite squeezed between two diamond jaws at pressures of 170,000 atmospheres managed to produce a crack in the diamond. A team modelled various crystal structures that could result when graphite is ...

A new technique uses a pulsing laser to create synthetic nanodiamond films and patterns from graphite, with potential applications from biosensors to computer chips. “The biggest advantage is that you ...

In brief: Chinese researchers have developed a synthetic diamond that is significantly harder and more resilient than those that occur naturally here on Earth. If commercially viable, the new diamond ...

Molten carbon can crystallize into diamond or graphite, but it has been difficult to study this process. New simulations show that graphite can sometimes "hijack" the pathway that would lead to ...

This illustration depicts a new technique that uses a pulsing laser to create synthetic nanodiamond films and patterns from graphite, with potential applications from biosensors to computer chips.