No, diamonds are not easy to crush in the sense that they are exceptionally hard materials. However, they can be broken with sufficient force applied in the right way.
Diamonds are renowned for their hardness, which is their resistance to scratching. However, hardness and toughness (resistance to fracture) are different properties. Diamonds possess high hardness but only fair toughness.
Here's a breakdown:
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Hardness vs. Toughness: Hardness measures a material's resistance to localized plastic deformation (e.g., scratching). Toughness measures its resistance to fracture when subjected to stress. While diamond is very hard, its crystalline structure has planes along which it can cleave or fracture relatively easily.
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Vulnerability: A sharp blow with a tool like a hammer, especially along a cleavage plane, can cause a diamond to shatter or break. While uncommon in everyday use, diamond cutters utilize this principle to shape rough diamonds.
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Comparison to Other Materials: Although diamonds are harder than most materials, some man-made materials and even some metals (like tungsten or steel with high tensile strength) can exert enough force to break a diamond with a direct impact. This is because tensile strength is the measure of how much stress a material can withstand before breaking, and while a diamond is resistant to scratching, it can be fractured under sufficient impact.
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Practical Implications: This doesn't mean your diamond ring is going to crumble at any moment. Diamonds are durable enough for jewelry and industrial applications when handled with reasonable care. But they're not indestructible.
In summary, while extremely hard, diamonds are not invulnerable to crushing or breaking, especially when subjected to sharp, forceful impacts along their cleavage planes.
