Diamond is crystallised carbon. No more, no less. And yet it is more, for many of its physical properties are determined in large measure by its impurities, which may include surprisingly large amounts of the light elements nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen. The result is a proliferation of diamond types and classes with different descriptions and applications, coming from an industry which worldwide produces some 40 tons or more per year of industrial diamond. Accordingly, this review begins with a brief historical introduction, and then describes in some detail the forms in which impurities may occur and their influence on the physical properties of diamond, before going on to some of the scientific uses of this material. In volume terms, these scientific uses account for but a minuscule proportion of the total industrial consumption, the chief of these being the drilling, sawing, grinding and shaping of hard materials. They are nevertheless of substantial interest in themselves and of great practical importance in several branches of science.
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