"Creating Super Diamonds: Unveiling the Path to Even Harder Materials"

Physicists from the US and Sweden have simulated a way to transform diamonds into an even harder material, known as the eight-atom body-centred cubic (BC8) phase, which is believed to be 30% more resistant to compression than diamonds. This unusual structure has only been observed in silicon and germanium on Earth, but it is theorized to exist in highly-pressurized environments inside exoplanets. However, attempts to synthesize this material have been unsuccessful due to the narrow range of temperature and pressure under which the BC8 phase can occur.