The applications and making of artificial diamonds Diamonds are truly unique. Their hardness and beauty have attracted people for many years. Now some of the same attributes that make them attractive also make them useful. To understand these attributes carbon chemistry is very important. This unique chemistry is what makes them so difficult to make. A lot of research has been done on the production of diamonds and this has led to many successes in the field. These discoveries have led to the creation of machines and processes that make diamond production more efficient and reliable. Of course, all of this research and discoveries would not be coveted if it weren't for the many applications of diamonds. This is true for cosmetic, industrial and electronic purposes. Diamonds can be very complex but they have many uses. The chemistry of diamonds is very interesting. Diamonds are mainly composed of carbon. Carbon can also exist as graphite, in a carbon chain, or as buckminsterfullerene. It never forms bonds and leaves unshared electron pairs. In graphite, carbon atoms form sp2 bonds. In this type of bond, an electron from the s orbital jumps to the p orbital to complete the octet with the other carbon atoms. When this happens, the orbital flattens and the result is a large lattice on a two-dimensional plane (Oxtoby). These lattices are attracted to each other and not bonded to each other in graphite compounds. Although they are made of the same carbon, the diamond compound is different due to the type of bonds. Each atom forms four directional sp3 bonds instead of graphite's three resonant bonds. This allows the diamond to maintain its tetrahedral shape. It's also what makes diamond so hard. The tetrahedral sheet...... half of the sheet...... January 1999.Elert, Glenn. "Presure Used to Create Artificial Diamonds." 1998.Frogley, Elizabeth. “Really good fake diamonds.” November 6, 2002.Gurov, Ivan Ivanovich. “Method of Manufacturing Diamonds.” November 2000.Hoover, Aaron. “Simply brilliant: Uf/Russia team produces gem-quality diamonds.” Daily science news. August 1999. Krane, Kenneth. Modern physics. United States: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1996.Oxtoby, Freeman, Block. Chemistry, science of change. Philadelphia: Saunders College Publishing. 1998.