How the carbon atoms in diamond are linked together?
The figure above shows the unit cell of a diamond crystal. This unit cell shows the smallest group of carbon atoms, arranged in three-dimensions that can represent the essential features of the diamond crystal. The edges for this cube are 3.5670 Angstroms long. Each carbon atom in diamond is surrounded by four nearest neighbors. They are connected together by covalent, sigma, bonds that separate them by a distance of 1.5445 Angstroms. The angles between these bonds are 109 degrees. As a result, the central atom and its neighbors form a tetrahedron. The interlocking network of covalent bonds makes the diamond structure very rigid.
