page_title: Diamond cubic
section_title: Mechanical properties
hierarchical_section_title: Diamond cubic / Mechanical properties
caption_attribution_description: English: Lorimerlite structure, the strongest isotropic truss for resisting compression. Lormerlite
context_page_description: The diamond cubic crystal structure is a repeating pattern of 8 atoms that certain materials may adopt as they solidify. While the first known example was diamond, other elements in group 14 also adopt this structure, including α-tin, the semiconductors silicon and germanium, and silicon/germanium alloys in any proportion.
  Although often called the diamond lattice, this structure is not a lattice in the technical sense of this word used in mathematics.
context_section_description: The compressive strength and hardness of diamond and various other materials, such as boron nitride, is attributed to the diamond cubic structure.
  Similarly truss systems that follow the diamond cubic geometry have a high capacity to withstand compression, by minimizing the unbraced length of individual struts. The diamond cubic geometry has also been considered for the purpose of providing structural rigidity though structures composed of skeletal triangles, such as the octet truss, have been found to be more effective for this purpose.
caption: Example of a diamond cubic truss system for resisting compression
exif: {"Image Make": "PENTAX Corporation", "Image Model": "PENTAX Optio S12", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Optio S12 Ver 1.00", "Image DateTime": "2012:09:20 03:17:30", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "590", "Image PrintIM": "[80, 114, 105, 110, 116, 73, 77, 0, 48, 51, 48, 48, 0, 0, 33, 0, 1, 0, 22, 0, ... ]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "52376", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4845", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/640", "EXIF FNumber": "14/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "64", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2012:09:20 03:17:30", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2012:09:20 03:17:30", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "230221/125000", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "14/5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "79/10", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4000", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3000", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "52252", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "38", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "2"}