Let’s assume there is some phenominal breakthrough in the creation of artifical diamonds allowing the creation of flawless diamonds in arbitrary sizes and shapes. If you were to make a window out of a single solid diamond, how well would it hold up to impacts and bullets as compared to current bulletproof glass?
I know it would be harder and more scratch-resistant than pretty much anything else. But I seem to recall hearing that diamonds could shatter or chip pretty easily. Would a diamond window, shot with a window, shatter?
Not an answer to the question, but here is a company the makes Diamond Optical Windows (albeit small ones), and here are the these are the specs. I couldn’t find specs on bullet proof glass as to the hardness or tensile strength, as I’m guessing there are multiple formulas…
Diamonds may be hard to scratch but you can take a hammer to it and shatter them easily since they are so brittle. My WAG: more resistant to breakage than glass, but not by as much as you’d think.
About 10 years ago I sat through a physics seminar by someone whose research involved being able to lay down thin, very regular crystals over large areas. At some point the US military had been eager for them to investigate the possibilities of diamond coating fighter aircraft cockpit windows. The problem the idea ran into was exactly that suggested above - such a window actually isn’t particularly strong at resisting impacts - and so the project was abandoned.
