The same element, two personalities
Pencils and diamonds.
What makes them different?
One leaves a mark on paper. The other is hard enough to scratch glass.
Drag the slider below to see inside them.
01 / GRAPHITE
Graphite in a pencil
Dark and soft enough to leave a mark on paper.
02 / DIAMOND
Carbon in diamonds
Clear and hard: a very different form of carbon.
What it looks like
What our eyes seeAmong the atoms
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It's all carbon.
Different connections. Different properties.
In graphite, each carbon atom is connected to three neighbors in the same layer; the interaction between layers is weak and it is easy to slide relative to each other. In diamond, each carbon atom is connected to four neighbors, forming a strong three-dimensional network.
The traces left by the pencil are graphite flakes left on the paper.
Meet carbon ↗