Composition

Diamonds are called "ice" with superior reason. Objects feel cold not only since they are at a lower temperature than our bodies, but also because they can extract or conduct the heat away from us. When you touch a diamond to your lips, it feels ice-cold since it robs your lips of their heat. The capacity of diamond to conduct heat distinguishes it eagerly from other gems and exceeds that of copper, an superb thermal conductor, by about 4 times at room temperature. This exceptional property of diamond is increasingly being used for extracting heat from electronic devices to make them smaller and more influential.

Metals generally conduct heat much better than transparent substances, because they have loose electrons that act as packets for carrying heat in much the same way they move electricity. Nonmetals conduct heat exclusively by atomic vibrations, a less efficient mechanism than moving electrons. In diamond, though, vibrational energy travels through the crystal along the strong internal chemical bonds. Thus, diamond's superlative strength provides excellent thermal conduction as well.