my diamond's harder than yours

Hey folks,

Welcome to the not-so-nerdy (but nerdy) This Week in Engineering’s newsletter - formerly known as Engineer’s Espresso!

This is insane. Scientists in China just made diamonds 40% harder than natural ones.

we're talking about super-diamonds only found in meteorites before this.

The trick?

They changed the structure from cubic to hexagonal. That's it.

What's actually impressive here is how they did it. The team at Jilin University figured out that if you squeeze and heat graphite under insane pressure, it forms this weird "post-graphite phase" that turns into hexagonal diamonds.

And they're not just harder - they can handle heat better than regular diamonds too.

Scientists have known about these since finding one in an Arizona meteorite back in '67. But making them in a lab? That's new. Sure, the US tried in 2021, but China claims they've cracked it for real this time.

Why care? Think about every industrial diamond blade, every drilling bit. Now imagine those 40% stronger. That's huge. Plus these things handle heat better than regular diamonds.

Oh yeah - and last year China figured out how to make diamonds conduct electricity. Which is nuts because diamonds normally don't do that.

Welcome to 2025, where even diamonds aren't hard enough anymore.

Think you know all there is about diamonds? Dive into this quiz to test your diamond knowledge, from natural wonders to cutting-edge synthetics!

Ready to share more shiny facts or have a diamond question that stumps you?
Drop your thoughts here!

⦁ New smart jacket uses AI to prevent overheating and discomfort

⦁ 3D-printed alloy conserves nickel while maintaining stainless steel strength

⦁ Silicon chip maps 70,000 synaptic connections in neuronal network

China’s not only cooking up diamonds, they’re cooking up prosthetics. They just built a hand that's actually light enough to use and moves almost like a real one.

Not talking about those clunky robot hands - this thing weighs less than a pound and can do everything from combing hair to playing chess.

Your hand makes up 54% of all the ways your body can move, but weighs basically nothing (like 1/150th of your body).

That's been impossible to copy until now.

Regular prosthetics either move like crap or weigh too much to be useful.

The breakthrough?

They ditched motors and used this smart metal that remembers its shape. Added fake tendons too, just like in a real hand. Packed it with 23 sensors and 38 of these metal muscles. Result? A hand that moves in 19 different ways - pretty damn close to a real hand's 23.

The really cool part is you can control it with your voice. Works in 60 languages, responds instantly, and gets it right 95% of the time. They've got people using it to write, shake hands, even do sign language.

Imagine losing your hand (actually dont) and actually being able to exchange business cards or use your phone again. That's what this makes possible. No BS, no tech hype - just a prosthetic that finally works like it should.

• Engineer - Structures - Structural Integrity Associates
  Holding things together—literally. If you love making sure buildings don’t do the cha-cha in an earthquake, this one's for you.
  

• MEP Mechanical Engineer - Actalent
  Designing pipes, ducts, and all things that keep buildings breathing. Basically, you're an HVAC whisperer.
  

• Sr. Control Systems Engineer - Shell
  Keeping machines in check so they don’t develop a mind of their own. If you secretly enjoy being a robot overlord, apply now.

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