“Diamonds are a girl’s best friend.”

As glamorous and luscious the song gets to be, taking it as an actual worldview on the world’s most popular gemstone is an outdated approach, since diamonds are not just limited to be used by women or in jewelry anymore.

Gone are the days when providers had to wait for years to source diamonds created through lengthy geographic processes, which then had to be priced just as exclusively. With the use of synthetic diamonds that are created through intricate yet swift lab processes, these providers can not only obtain diamonds faster than ever before, but price them adequately for them to be used in an array of situations.

That array of situations is not limited to vanity either. With the mechanical properties of synthetic diamonds, they can and are currently being used in a wide variety of industries, including but not limited to consumer goods, healthcare, automotive, construction, aerospace, stone, and thermal sectors.

Due to this, synthetic diamonds are also known as “industrial diamonds”, and are sought after for their ability to be used in a variety of situations as an optimal tool. This has also earned them the moniker of supermaterial – which is a term used for any material that can be utilized effectively throughout a vast number of applications.

Element Six, which was formerly known as De Beers Industrial Diamond, is one of the global leaders in the synthetic diamonds industry and makes synthetic diamonds in its professionally-controlled environment to deliver high-quality end products and pertinent technologies to multiple entities.

While it is an established brand itself within the industry, Element Six understands its corporate responsibility to educate the world and everyday users.

Its end solutions touch and positively affect various industries around them, so they could appreciate the use of synthetic diamonds and look into adopting them if and when they find themselves in a position to do so.

As a part of that mindset, Element Six has put together various education materials over its time within the industry which serve the aforementioned purpose. One of those materials is an interesting ebook that talks about the various uses of synthetic diamonds, and how they affect our everyday lives.

While the ebook in itself is a great read, we thought to summarize the meat of the discussion, so you could not only get an idea what it is about, but also become more interested in learning about these innovative creations that are sometimes touted as being the 3D-printing equivalent of the gemstone industry.

The Mechanical Properties of Synthetic Diamonds and How They Help in Various Industries

As mentioned above, synthetic diamonds are known for their different properties and use cases. Thus, to understand the usage of synthetic diamonds, taking a good look at those properties is only prudent in order to comprehend how they are so beneficial to each respective industry in which they are being utilized.

Electronic Properties

Synthetic diamonds have the ability to carry very low current even under high voltages and have a high electrical carrier mobility. With this, they are also known for their low dielectric constant and loss. What’s more is that they are able to combine with boron and emulate an electrical conductivity that is similar to metal.

These properties work towards making synthetic diamonds an excellent choice for electrical machinery on an industrial level, building products that can stand the test of time and extensive usage. They are also being used in industries ranging from physics research to water treatment, as well as ozone production and quantum computing development.

Thermal Properties

Synthetic diamonds also have the highest known thermal conductivity of any material. With it, they are also known to sport the highest known resistance to thermal shock. They also have a low thermal expansion.

This causes synthetic diamonds to be a viable choice for scientific equipment such as particle detectors, as well as computing, automotive and aerospace materials.

Physical Properties

With all these abilities, synthetic diamonds also sport a low coefficient of friction, have a certain chemical and biochemical inertness, and prove to be a tremendous choice when it comes to choosing a material with electrical insulator properties. They are also extremely tough, especially in the form of the polycrystalline diamond (PCD).

A certain type of synthetic diamond, called the polycrystalline CVD (chemical vapor deposition), is also known for its acoustic properties and the ability to reflect sound in a manner that rarely any other material could. This diamond also has the ability to be produced in accurate geometric shapes to be used in a variety of cases.

These abilities, coupled with the aforementioned properties have made it possible for synthetic diamonds to be used in construction, building and sourcing equipment, in mechanical and large scale machinery, as well as musical instruments and equipment.

And of course, the physical sheen and distinct properties exhibited by synthetic diamonds make them the perfect material for the widely known use case of diamonds: as gemstones.

The Advancements of Synthetic Diamonds Have Just Begun

Most of these advancements in synthetic diamonds have only been made in the last few years.

With the way that the current technology is improving and opening doors to newer possibilities that we never even thought of exploring before, some might say that the people integral to the synthetic diamonds industry have not even scratched the proverbial surface with what synthetic diamonds can do on a larger level. More developments might just be on their way.

And that makes the synthetic diamonds industry an all-around interesting space to watch, no matter if you like science, physics, technical advancements or – wait for it – jewelry.