Lonsdaleite [SEP] named after
Lonsdaleite
Lonsdaleite (named in honour of Kathleen Lonsdale), also called hexagonal diamond in reference to the crystal structure, is an allotrope of carbon with a hexagonal lattice. In nature, it forms when meteorites containing graphite strike the Earth. The great heat and stress of the impact transforms the graphite into diamond, but retains graphite's hexagonal crystal lattice. Lonsdaleite was first identified in 1967 from the Canyon Diablo meteorite, where it occurs as microscopic crystals associated with diamond.
Hexagonal diamond has also been synthesized in the laboratory
- List of minerals named after people
External links.
- Mindat.org accessed 13 March 2005.
- Webmineral accessed 13 March 2005.
- Materials Science and Technology Division, Naval Research Laboratory website accessed 14 May 2006.
- Diamond no longer nature's hardest material
- lonsdaleite 3D animation