On Fri, 21 Nov 2003 23:34:17 +0000, George E. Cawthon wrote:



Diatribe? now you are getting nasty. I don't have a clue
who or what Norton is or says, but if they say diamond
dissolves in iron or steel, then they don't know squat about
physics or chemistry.

http://www.sp3inc.com/FAQ.htm

"Why can't you machine ferrous metals with diamond?

Diamond is unaffected by almost every other chemical or compound in
nature. One exception is hot iron. The carbon atoms in diamond will
dissolve into the iron, quickly eroding the diamond surface.
Iron wheels are used for polishing natural diamond."

http://www.egr.msu.edu/~pkwon/me477/solution4.pdf

"Why is the hardest material, diamond, not good for machining ferrous
metals at high cutting speed? Diamond readily dissolves into ferrous
metals at high temperatures."

There are tons of other references online.

Hell, it should be obvious to anyone that carbon dissolves just fine
in hot iron. That's basically what steel is, after all!