Q-Carbon Is Brighter Than Diamonds; Scientific Evidence Proves Substance Also Harder!
Scientists have created a new substance that is brighter and harder than diamonds and it is called Q-carbon, according to CNN.
Researchers at North Carolina State University discovered this new phase of solid carbon. They were able to create this by zapping Q-carbon at a fraction of a fraction of a blink of an eye using a laser beam. That's exactly 200 nanoseconds or 200th billion of a second.
This heats the carbon to approximately 3,700 degrees Celsius.
The technique creates diamond-related structures at ambient atmospheric pressure in air and at room temperature, revealed Phys Org.
Without mixing in additional elements like oxygen, pure carbon can take a few distinct forms. One would be graphite where carbon atoms line up, forming sheets. Flaky and thin graphite is used to make pencil lead and graphene.
On the other hand, building blocks of diamonds are formed when carbon atoms form into a rigid crystal lattice, reported Popular Science.
"We've now created a third solid phase of carbon," says Jay Narayan, the lead author of three papers describing the work. "The only place it may be found in the natural world would be possibly in the core of some planets."
Researchers have published the results of their work in the Journal of Applied Physics. Narayan is also the John C. Fan Distinguished Chair Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at NC State.
Q-carbon is not graphite, and it is not diamond. It can however, glow even in the lowest light and has strong brilliance according to the researcher. It also is harder than diamonds but is ferromagnetic. Meaning, it can be magnetized.
Engineers have the option to vary the laser blast to create nanodiamonds, which are on the cutting edge of cancer drug research. They are non-toxic and can be produced cheaply.
"We can create diamond nanoneedles or microneedles, nanodots or large-area diamond films, with applications for drug delivery," said Narayan.
Q-carbon is so new that scientists say to get to know them better, they still need to further study its properties.
