Diamond requires oxygen to burn, which leads to the formation of carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide. It is a result of the carbon composition in diamonds, which reacts with oxygen. There will be no combustion in the absence of oxygen, but the high temperatures will convert the diamonds to graphite.
At ~700 degrees Fahrenheit the diamond will start burning. This will produce Carbon Dioxide and change the structure so that it is no longer a diamond. As diamond is made of Carbon, it would revert back to that form while losing its mass to the production of CO2. This is due to the presence of Oxygen.
Diamonds Burn Like Anything Carbon
As pure crystalline carbon (C), diamonds have the exact same chemistry as graphite (though they have different molecular structures). If strongly heated in the presence of oxygen (air), carbon will react with the oxygen (burn) to form carbon dioxide gas (CO2).
Researchers at Cornell University for the first time have documented the melting of diamond, the hardest material known to man. It occurred by accident when researchers were performing studies of graphite under temperatures and pressures that mimicked those in the earth's interior.
A lot of energy is needed to separate the atoms in diamond. This is because covalent bonds are strong, and diamond contains many covalent bonds. This makes diamond's melting point and boiling point very high.
Diamonds don't shatter when exposed to high heats.
Because it takes millions of years to form diamonds below the earth's surface, they are exposed to massive amounts of heat and high pressure. As a result, diamonds are incredibly durable and aren't susceptible to damage from high heat.
Diamonds will burn at about 1562°F (850°C). House fires and jewelers' torches can reach that temperature.
Diamond reserves have been stable in recent years at 2.3 billion carats, a sufficient level to sustain current annual production for the next 18 years. New pipeline and expansion projects along with currently operating facilities will generate around 172.3 million carats in 2025.
A small, fast bullet will likely not break a diamond. But a large, slow bullet will. So many occurrences can damage or completely destroy this precious stone, that it's hard to list them all.
For that reason, it is recommended that you not attempt to clean your diamond by boiling it. Boiling is no more effective than other methods of cleaning and carries a greater risk of damage to the stone and to the jewelry's metal parts.
Carbon atoms set free by ultraviolet light. It might be among the hardest materials known, but place a diamond in a patch of sunlight and it will start to lose atoms, say a team of physicists in Australia.
A popular belief is that some mined diamonds originated from coal. However, this is highly unlikely. Coal is a sedimentary rock formed from plant debris deposited on the surface of the Earth. Coal is not buried deep enough into the surface to be subjected to the heat and pressure required to make diamonds.
The diamond rain phenomenon is believed by some scientists to take place on Uranus and Neptune in our solar system. It is thought it exists some 8,000 km below the surface of our ice giant neighbours, created from commonly found mixtures of hydrogen and carbon, squeezed together at incredible pressure.
Diamond is the hardest known material to date, with a Vickers hardness in the range of 70–150 GPa. Diamond demonstrates both high thermal conductivity and electrically insulating properties, and much attention has been put into finding practical applications of this material.
The Cullinan Diamond is the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found, weighing 3,106 carats (621.20 g), discovered at the Premier No. 2 mine in Cullinan, South Africa, on 26 January 1905. It was named after Thomas Cullinan, the owner of the mine.
Diamonds do not shatter when dropped, but they may chip from powerful, accidental blows. They can also break when there is pressure buildup inside the stone called 'strain. ' A small tap results in breakage for the pressure to escape. While it is very rare for diamonds to break this way, it's a fact worth noting.
While there may not be many naturally-occurring materials out there that are stronger than diamonds, certain man-made metals like tungsten and steel have a higher tensile strength. That means a direct hit with an ordinary hammer can absolutely break a diamond.
Kevlar. Perhaps one of the better-known bulletproof materials, Kevlar is a synthetic fiber that's heat resistant and incredibly strong. It's also lightweight, making it a popular choice for wearable bulletproof items. Kevlar is used in both military and civilian applications.
Worldwide reserves are estimated to be some 1.2 billion carats. Russia has the largest reserves, estimated at some 650 million carats.
There are vast resources of diamonds inside Earth; their availability is limited only by the rate at which they are mined. Scientists now estimate that a quadrillion tons of diamonds lie deep beneath the Earth's surface (CNN).
Under normal conditions, the kinetic energy of the atoms is small compared to the energy barrier, so that the degradation of diamond to graphite is so slow as to be virtually non-existent.
Even without pure oxygen, diamonds can be damaged by flame, according to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). Typically, a diamond caught in a house fire or by an overzealous jeweler's torch will not go up in smoke, but instead will combust on the surface enough to look cloudy and white.
However, you needn't worry about leaving a diamond in the sun. It would take a temperature of 700-900°C before it started to burn, since the carbon atoms in a diamond are in a tight three-dimensional array that's very hard to disrupt.