• Question: what is the melting point of diamong/ crystals

    Asked by answerIs42 to Anna, Hayley, Iain, Rebecca on 16 Jun 2015.
    • Photo: anon

      anon answered on 16 Jun 2015:

      The melting point of diamond is about 3500°C. As for crystals, it’s very complicated as they have different melting points depending on how hard they are and what type of crystal they are.

    • Photo: Iain Bethune

      Iain Bethune answered on 16 Jun 2015:

      Melting points also depend on pressure. Generally, the higher pressure a mineral is under (the harder you squeeze it), the higher the melting point. That’s because you need to put in more energy (as heat) to break up the crystal lattice into a liquid when it’s squeezed very tightly – liquids are less dense than solids (mostly – ice/water is an exception, which is why ice floats!)

      For all you ever wanted to know about Crystals, you can search the Crystallographic Online Database : http://www.crystallography.net

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