eli5 since diamonds are compressed carbon is it combustible? I don’t think so but why?
In: 730
The carbon in diamonds *can* burn, but in order to do so those carbon atoms need to split off of the diamond’s crystal structure.
Because the carbon atoms in a diamond are very tightly bound together, it takes a lot of energy to split them off into a position where they can bond with oxygen while burning.
Practically speaking, burning a diamond would involve some extreme combination of high temperatures, high pressures and an oxygen enriched atmosphere
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