Materials guide
Independent plain-language guides to industrial materials, synthetic diamond, advanced ceramics and composites, and where they are used.
Featured guides
Each one links on to more specific articles in its topic.
Start here · Essential guide
A plain-language look at how carbon becomes diamond in a lab, from high-pressure presses that mimic the deep Earth to gas-phase growth at low pressure.
What a diamond coating is, how it is grown on a tool or part, why it resists abrasive wear, and where its practical limits lie, explained in plain language.
A plain-language tour of the diamond materials family used in industry: grit, sintered compacts, coatings, films, composites and nanodiamond, and what each does.
A plain-language look at where synthetic diamond shows up in aircraft and spacecraft work, from machining airframe parts to wear surfaces, windows and heat control.
How lab-grown diamond is used in electronics: heat spreaders, substrates and sensors, why its properties suit the job, and what still limits wider adoption.
Browse
How synthetic diamond is made and used in coatings and composites.
Applications across industries and the costs involved.
Other industrial materials and the road ahead.
The science of diamond, other carbon forms and superhard materials.
How hard materials are deposited, machined and tested.
Technical ceramics, composite engineering and managing heat and wear.