Whats the difference in carbon between a pencil lead and a diamond?
The lead of a pencil is made out of the mineral graphite, which is one of the forms – or ‘allotropes’ – of the element carbon. Diamond is another. It’s also made up of pure elemental carbon. But even though both materials are made of only carbon atoms, they have strikingly different physical properties. Graphite is soft, while diamond is the hardest naturally-occurring mineral. How can one and the same element take on such different forms? In entertaining episodes our Chemical Reporter answers questions of our Podcast listeners on Chemistry in our everyday life.
