Summary & Discussion:
The hard, carbon-composed, precious mineral everybody is familiar with, diamond, may soon have a new cousin. Officially named T-Carbon, this new molecule has yet to be synthesized, or constructed, in real life. Having already been simulated on a Chinese supercomputer, T-Carbon has essentially the same basic structure as diamond, a cubic arrangement of carbon atoms. However, every carbon atom in the cubic diamond would be exchanged with a pyramid of four carbon atoms, as in the image shown. The resulting molecule is what the scientists call T-Carbon. T-Carbon’s discoverer, a Chinese scientist named Gang Su, states that he got the idea to make the new material from "a television show about Egypt's pyramids," thus explaining the molecule’s structure. When calculated, Su discovered that T-Carbon would have 43% of diamond’s density and 65% of its hardness. Since it is light and durable, T-Carbon could have many potential uses, including storing energy and being used as a semiconductor, an essential component of most electrical circuits. Furthermore, Su and his colleagues have even hypothesized that T-Carbon could be a component of cosmic dust and help explain why light becomes distorted upon encountering the dust. However, this useful material may not ever be built. Most carbon-based molecules are extremely unstable and cannot exist in the Earth’s everyday environment. Not very many carbon-based molecules can exist; the few that can include soot and graphite. Due to T-Carbon’s low density, it must be formed at pressures that are extremely low. Before scientists finally discover a method to create T-Carbon, they can only deem it as “carbon’s imaginary friend.” If this versatile material were to ever be formed stably, a wide range of previously impossible tasks would be available. For example, as they have hypothesized, T-Carbon may bend light waves and cause distorted viewings of the universe. However, if we could create T-Carbon on Earth, the ability to bend light would result in the possibility of constructing an invisibility cloak. A layer of T-Carbon might be able to cause light to go around the object, thus making it seem invisible. Although it is still far from becoming reality, T-Carbon would be of great use to the military and the scientific world if it can be constructed. I chose to write about this article because I am interested in atoms and the everyday atom, carbon. It is interesting to see the possibilities our universe has provided us with.
Resources:
Devin, Powell. "Diamond Cousin Proposed." Science News 28 Feb. 2011: n. pag.
Science News. Web. 4 Mar. 2011. <http://www.sciencenews.org/view/
generic/id/70420/title/Diamond_cousin_proposed>.
Science News. Web. 4 Mar. 2011. <http://www.sciencenews.org/view/
generic/id/70420/title/Diamond_cousin_proposed>.
